


The Midori Incident

by Alexleetx



Series: Black Iris [1]
Category: Vampire Knight (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Accidental Bonding, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Blood Drinking, Blood and Injury, Blood and Violence, Complete, Gore, Heavy Angst, How Do I Tag, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Is the fandom dead, Kaname wants zero, M/M, Not Beta Read, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, Originally posted on ffnet in 2010 revised and edited because it is 2020 yall, Torture, kidnapped aidou hanabusa, kidnapped kiryuu zero, only level e harmed and killed, scheming kaname
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-05
Updated: 2020-04-16
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:14:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 79,343
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23492263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alexleetx/pseuds/Alexleetx
Summary: Zero and Aidou made two odd choices to be vamp-napped. Both are stubborn, impulsive and prideful; will they work out of it together before they end up killing one another instead? This is the prequel to a KaZe story, The Black Iris. Zero and Aidou's predicament resulted to an accidental blood bond. So where does that leave Kaname and Zero?
Relationships: Aidou Hanabusa & Kiryuu Zero, Aidou Hanabusa/Kiryuu Zero, Cross Yuuki/Kuran Kaname, Kiryuu Zero & Kuran Kaname, Kiryuu Zero/Kuran Kaname
Series: Black Iris [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1690270
Comments: 30
Kudos: 113





	1. How it all started

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He awoke, body numb from the drugged feeling a long night sleep sometimes induces. Lethargy- that was the best word to describe his current condition. Groaning, he realized that his head was cradled in someone’s lap. Puzzled, he didn’t move because he couldn’t believe his mind when he heard that someone spoke to him, “How are you feeling?”
> 
> Immediately he felt his stomach sink and he realized that he had carelessly dropped his guard in the presence of Kuran Kaname. Mortified, he scrambled to sit up defying all the roaring and splitting in his head. The pureblood hands steadied him holding his shoulders. “I’ve been better. How long was I out?” he said. 
> 
> “Not long, just a few minutes.”
> 
> Zero groaned, “Thank fuck.” 
> 
> Kaname looked at him as he stood up, studying him with a too-calm gaze. The pureblood trailed his fingers down to his arm to the fading bite mark on his wrist. Zero was frozen, gobsmacked because he intended to twist his wrist away but his body hummed in contentment instead, a string of curses hanging from the tip of his tongue but not escaping from his lips because the light contact zinged- dread flooded his mind. 
> 
> The rest was how it all started.

Waking up with a 13 Richter scaled headache was not an enjoyable experience. Well, if such magnitude had ever existed, but to him it does. Disoriented and dazed, his whole body ached like he had been struck by a lightning bolt. 

The scent of his blood and some sort of chemical clogged up his nose. No, it was the scent of his blood mixed with the stale nauseating stench of foreign bodily fluids- blood, sweat, maybe saliva and another kind of secretion bunged up his nerves and made him want to puke. The chemical just reminded him of his school lab, the smell lingering on the jars and jars of disgusting creepy crawlies and small animals submerged in murky putrid formalin, specifically that smell when the chemistry teacher once knocked out a big fat rat using a cloth doused in chloro-something. He cursed his muddled head.

He moved his arms but stopped because they were tied securely behind him to something cold and metallic tightly pressed to his back. He realized he was strapped to a metal chair, his knees spread apart as his ankles were also tied to each of the metal legs. A thick band of mouldy funny smelling cloth obscured his vision, tied too tightly and digging into the back of his damp obviously blood soaked hair. He could feel his fingers and feet numbing to the abnormally cold surroundings, his breath must be turning into puffs of condensed steam and some of it frosted at the tip of his nose. 

A faint whirring sound broke the silence and a gust of freezing cold air blasted through whatever room he was in, minus his thick school overcoat and jacket; leaving his plain white cotton uniform shirt frozen crisp and paper-like. Several buttons must be missing because the top half of the garment flapped loosely against his chest. Sweet, he got a nice air-conditioned potential hell-hole right in the middle of summer.

He shook his head, willing the headache to fade away as well as forcing his disorientated brain to analyze his predicament. Probably not too long ago he was on his way back to his small apartment from school with his groceries in a brown paper bag, his school books in his backpack. Definitely not too long ago somebody had waited for him in the dark corner of the hallway and whacked him viciously at the back of his head with a piece of galvanized pipe right after he fished out his keys in his pocket. He got to give him some credit for being able to stay off his radar, the son of a bitch managed to hide himself pretty good.

Almost in slow motion, he saw the bloodied pipe clatter on the ground along with his whole bag of foodstuff. However, he surprised his attacker by not immediately dropping down unconscious upon the blow but grabbed the bastard's right ankle simultaneously reaching for his gun strapped to his shoulder holster. The scum may be human, but a gun is a gun and the Bloody Rose was one intimidating looking piece of metal enough to scare some sense into any sensible dude to back off.

Too bad he got one insensible oaf on him because the surprisingly agile heavy-breathing mammoth of a man efficiently crushed his wrist with his other foot, kicked his gun away into the dark oblivion of the hallway and electrocuted him three times with a taser baton. Thrice because he had clawed the man's calf after the first jolt, missed the oaf's groin when he swung his legs up right after the second shock but one foot was caught and he was flipped over onto his stomach to be zapped at the nape. Then, the well-prepared bastard proved that putrid chloroform does work on vampires. Whoever the bastard was, he had determinedly wanted to capture him badly. 

Lo and behold, Kiryuu Zero the young Hunter Association's hotshot had been powered down into sleep mode, hauled off somewhere to be strapped down onto a freezing cold metal contraption in a room that could rival the cruellest winter in Japan.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading \\(//∇//)\
> 
> April 4th,2020  
> The complete version on this story has been on ffnet since 2010. Zero/Aidou pairing is not popular but trust me you have to read one or two chapters if you want to read the next story, “The Black Iris” (shameless plug). Then I hit a wall called life and dropped off the radar till now, 2020. Since I couldn’t figure out how to work around ffnet anymore (too complicated for my dinosaur brain), I’m moving it here gradually and I’m editing them a bit because even I can’t read what I wrote back then without cringing. *head-desks* But still, it would be pretty ‘meh’ because I don’t really speak English (third language) but I can read and write it. Maybe. Perhaps. Probably.
> 
> Muahahaha..
> 
> 16th April 2020  
> It’s finished ~ Oh, joy! ♪( ´▽｀)  
> Enjoy all 18 chapters of weird English, all done is 12 days. I must be nuts!! But I did it.  
> (￣^￣)ゞ I’m tired actually.  
> Make sure you finish em’ all
> 
> May 28th, 2020  
> Made a Zero sketch in the middle of tweaking chapter 22 of the next story (The Black Iris) in the series. Yeah, this story is completed but I might go back and add sketches and stuff. I hit writing blocks, clogs quite often so I draw to unclog my brain. Please drop me a comment if you have requests. I check my inbox at least once a day. You can look at the original sketch at Tumblr if you're interested. There are stuff from The Black Iris too there.
> 
> <https://awnbiru.tumblr.com/post/619344613824675841/a-vk-fanfiction>  
> 


	2. The Freezer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aidou finally joined the party.
> 
> Un-Beta-ed chapter. So... switch your English autocorrect. A WIP. I didn’t edit this one much.
> 
> T_T Gomennasai.

The faint whirring of the electrical motor ceased. The sudden silence amplified his numbness. Tugging at his binds, he nearly laughed out loud to find the idiot had used plastic tubes instead of something stronger; the elastic material was not enough to hold him, a cursed ex-human with freakishly inhuman capabilities. He could snap then without even breaking a sweat. Should he get away or should he sit around a bit longer to meet the stupid fool and torture him slowly for kidnapping him? He could not sense the captor's aura anywhere near simultaneously cursing the stinking rag covering his eyes— he could use some peripheral vision. However, although much to his revulsion and denial, his vampire enhanced senses could be exploited in these kinds of situations.

Zero rocked his body in the metal chair, causing the hind legs to scrape against the floor. He studied the echoes reverberating off the walls, analyzing the sound waves. The room had metal walls and the floor was made of concrete, judging from the velocity and the threshold of the echoes, it was a fairly large room with low ceilings. There was some sort of metallic clinking above, some creaking too. He could not make sense out of it but something wet like mud sloshed under the soles of his bare feet.

  
The whirring started again and more cold air was blasted in, ruffling his open shirt. He could feel the ice crusting on the skin of his chest. Judging from the temperature, the size and the reeking, rancid smell of rotting haemoglobin both of human and animal origins permeating off the enclosure he was in— he had conformed his hypothesis. The bastard was holding him in a fucking meat freezer turned slaughterhouse, the smell of torture and murder was way too obvious. He has a psycho up in his ass and he had to get away, pronto.

oO0Oo

Flipping through the yellowing pages of an old musty leather covered book, she sighed. The clock had just struck 10 and there were no stars in the night sky. She could almost smell the dark sulphuric clouds. It would rain later. The humidity was overwhelming; she regretted wearing her belted khaki shirtwaist dress. She should have chosen something out of lighter cotton. Placing the book onto the ancient oak study, she tugged off the elastic hair band securing her long dark shiny brown hair; which cascaded down to her slim waist. Somebody carefully knocked on the door.

"Has he arrived yet?" she asked the tall elderly butler almost impatiently, drumming her long fingers on the book. The butler bowed apologetically, signifying a negative. "Koda-san, may I please have my cell phone?" Her request was granted as he efficiently disappeared and reappeared with the shiny apple red device placed on a silver tray— Koda-san is a blessing. "Thank you. You may leave," she dismissed him.

No text, no messages, no calls, no nothing and uncharacteristically late; Aidou was usually so anal about abiding time and the word late was nonexistent in his dictionary. She punched the number 4 on her speed dial and waited for him to pick up.

  
Uncharacteristically again, he did not and she got his voicemail. "Hey, it's a shame the irresistibly gorgeous me had missed your call. Leave me some love and I'll pounce back at you later.” Frivolousness had always been his forte. 

Cringing, she waited for the beep, "Aidou –senpai, it's me, Yuuki. Are you all right? We're supposed to pick me up at eleven thirty, remember? Call me back."

She hung up and stashed the contraption into her handbag thinking, ‘Where are you Aidou?’ Her bags were packed and ready downstairs. The blond should have arrived an hour ago. They were scheduled to meet up with Kaname in Okinawa and their flight will be at 0100hrs. Getting Kaname off his duties was dreadfully hard and getting him to go on a weekend break was almost excruciatingly impossible. Yuuki had to practically threaten the prince to move back with her adoptive father, Cross Kaien just to get him to push back his schedules and agree to go on a trip to the beaches. Most vampires may hate sunshine but Kuran Yuuki was no ordinary vampire, she had once lived as a human and she knew she could convince her brother and the irritatingly late friend to at least enjoy the white sands and balmy summer sea breeze under a shady umbrella, tree or whatever while she splash around in the water. Seiren would definitely stay close to her so maybe she could be swayed into donning on a sexy swimsuit too. It will be a chance to get Aidou to stop chasing skirts and get together with the silent platinum haired beauty. Then it would be perfect, she would have Kaname all to herself while those two nobles can get to know each other better. She giggled at the fantasy; it would be fun to hang out just like normal people once in a while. Well, maybe she could, if Aidou finally showed up of course.

Aidou was supposed to escort her there to meet Kaname and Seiren who will be flying in from Kyoto. Wishing she had had the air tickets instead of the blond flirt, she pictured herself running through the airport gates alone and smiled. She would personally strangle the vampire noble with her bare hands until his pretty bright blue eyes bulged in their sockets if he screws up.

oO0Oo

Zero shook his head one more time, willing his pounding headache to disappear. It did not work. Instead he began to notice a strange prickling sensation building up in his chest, like tiny specks of sharp glass floating in his veins and accumulated around his heart; his bloodlust. He ignored it.

Clenching his teeth, he focused his energy and tugged his hands. The thick plastic tubing stretched a bit but not enough. They were coiled from his wrist right up to his elbows, binding them uncomfortably tight together. Obviously the elastic weave and knots were carefully planned by the sick bastard to slow him down; he could have easily broken chains or hemp with brute force. Plastic withstands tension better, damn.

His ears picked up distant footsteps approaching the room. He stretched the binds again, the tubes dug painfully into his flesh. Increasing his strength, he gave a hard tug. The top knots snapped, something wet seeped into his shirtsleeves and there was a searing pain and something akin of scalding liquid burning his skin, he could smell his own blood in the air. Something was in those tubes, he realised belatedly as the pain increased exponentially. 

‘Come on Zero, you've been through worse than this,’ he thought. Again, he tugged and the rest of them came loose, not without leaking more and more of that rancid burning toxic.

Clamping on his urge to scream out in agony, silence was his top priority as a potential threat was rapidly approaching. If the bastard had been able to elude his senses and surprised him, the possibility of him being able to anticipate a counter-attack would be highly likely. Zero freed his hands and snagged his blindfold away, his eyes quickly adapting to the semi-darkness.

His hands were on fire, there was definitely something dangerous in those fucking tubes; it couldn't be acid or one of those textbook corrosives. The liquid singed his flesh and were eating through his bones but not his clothing, acid and chemicals are not selective abrasives. The pain was almost unbearable and his brains told him to stop moving and deal with the torture, agonizing enough to discourage and incapacitate a hostage. However, he was no ordinary hostage so he called upon his years of gruelling training and focused on his escape.

Similar tubes were used to tie down his legs. He was right, the twists and knots were like pieces of intricate art. His captor had plenty of time to practice. They were no doubt filled with more of those vile liquids. Snapping them would definitely cause a whole new level of pain, lovely. He could see the bones in his fingers, the flesh scorched and bits were hanging off, his wrist raw and oozing blood showing no signs of clotting as the liquid continued to melt away his flesh, bubbling and smoking. The wounds are trying to heal but the corrosive ate the new tissues, reopening them further. He was in hell but the quickening footsteps turned his misery into silent panic.

Again, ignoring the already intolerable stings, he reached down to one of the chair legs and twisted the metal, breaking it simultaneously aggravating his horrendous wounds. Amazingly the tubes and metal could be easily slid off his leg. In a quick assessment, the skin and flesh on his right thumb had fallen off, leaving the bone protruding uselessly from the stump. His forearms were raw and bloody; his vampire healing ability short circuited by the corrosives, thankfully the pain slowly numbed. High in adrenalin, he repeated the process to the other leg; and found a large hole had been bored into his left palm in the process. He tore his shirt and tied strips of them around both hands— even flexing them was killing him. Lightheaded from the blood loss, he scanned the room to figure out his contingency plan.

Another gust of cold air blasted from a vent in the ceiling and he heard the metal clinks again. Smirking, he saw them, rows and rows of menacing rusty metal hooks caked in reddish brown stuff probably once used to hang frozen meat in the dim bluish light. Reaching up, he unhooked one of them with his right hand. He would use them to gut the bastard before hanging him to bleed to death. He would make him pay for messing with a hunter, that foolish man. The footsteps were getting louder and he waited. Retaliation had never been so sweet. He raised the metal hook high above his head, taking on an offensive stance and waited.

The footsteps stopped behind the metal door. Zero could hear the heavy breathing mammoth fumbling with a padlock. But suddenly he stopped and the big voice, although muffled by the thick door warned, "Put that down Kiriyu and back away from the door!"

Strange, the oaf could not possibly have X-ray vision. Nevertheless, Zero tightened his grip on the hook and crouched lower. But the door did not open. Heavy-breathing-mammoth dropped something big and lumpy onto the floor and bellowed, "I can see you in there. Drop the hook, boy! Or I swear I'll—"

See, how can the bastard see him? ‘Unless—‘ He noticed a faint red light blinking just above the door. There was an infra-red camera installed, he belatedly realised. 

Zero had underestimated the oaf. "Or you what? Fucking dick, I swear I'll kill you!" Zero cut him off.

"Watch your filthy trap, boy, or your friend dies," the deep voice taunted. "Besides, you won't stand a chance going at me with your mangled hands. They couldn't even hurt a fly no more."

Several volleys of curses then ensued from the oaf and there was a small scuffle on the floor, a hard thud and then silence. ‘Friend? What the hell? He got another one, damn!’ Zero guessed the captive must have put up some sort of resistance. ‘Good boy.’

"Sorry pal, as antisocial as I am; I have no friend!" Zero growled. Heavy-breathing-mammoth had bagged in another kid, his mind screamed amidst his rioting senses. He prayed hard the bastard did not touch any of his frail human schoolmates from the academy. Currently, he could sense another life flickering behind the door but he was too weakened by his injuries to tell. Blood lost equals blood lust and he was having quite a hard time to maintain his focus, planning on pulverizing the bastard. He will not die without taking him down.

His threats must have sounded like a joke because his captor immediately laughed maniacally, "Oh, yes you do. You should see his face when I told him that you died." Then he kicked at something and Zero heard a muffled groan. "It's funny how a Level B bastard showed so much concern for a filthy D like you."

The gears in his head turned, Level B? D? Heavy-breathing-mammoth is a hunter?. That explains the weird stuff that has efficiently destroyed his hands— hunter weapons. Who says weapons are limited to sharp metal blades, or guns? Explosives, seals and as well as evil flesh-eating stuff were counted too.

  
Things just got complicated— exponentially.

  
  



	3. Manacles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zero meets Aidou. 
> 
> Un-beta-ed.

  
  


Yuuki paced back and forth anxiously in the foyer. Aidou was running terribly late and she was worried. Kaname and Seiren could not be reached meaning he was already flying to Okinawa. The brown haired pureblood decided to scrap the trip into the backburner. Presently, the fiery blond noble's disappearance upset her.

She had called the Aidou's residence and they had deployed their guards to search for the young heir. He had been living on his own for a few months in a condominium in the swankier part of town. He cited his desire for independence as the reason for the move. Yuuki doubted Aidou being capable of self-government. The blond was too picky, hopelessly self-absorbed, and narcissistic and chased anything wearing skirts. Yuuki had been to his new bachelor pad quite frequently; Aidou was her tutor, an appointed guardian. Kaname had made sure Aidou stayed close to her especially during his long absences. So wherever she goes, Aidou follows and vice versa. His place had a nice view, expensively furnished and everything about the place mirrored him perfectly- bright, shiny, sharp and loud. She would not be surprised if he had invited women over and entertained whenever he had the opportunity.

The old butler appeared and bowed, Yuuki inhaled too sharply in surprise. She had never got used to these rapid vampire movements. "We have something, Yuuki-sama," he said. Yuuki did not like the look on his face. He was afraid of her. It could not be good news. She motioned him to speak.

"Aidou-obochama appeared to be missing from his residence. His bags are in the trunk untouched and engine idling in the underground car-park," he said, his quiet voice careful. "There were signs of a scuffle and some traces of blood. It seems like he was attacked."

Her heart nearly dropped down to her stomach. She must have paled because Koda apologized profusely for delivering the news badly. She waived him off, "What else do we know?"

A bony hand clenched into fists at the side of the man, an act akin to resentment. "They found a weapon, engraved with 'Bloody Rose' at the scene. But there were no signs of the owner, the vampire hunter named..."

"Kiryuu Zero," she finished for him in a strangled whisper.

000000000

Heavy-breathing-mammoth kicked his captive again. This time there was a string of curses and a volley of insults addressed to the oaf's mother. Zero knew that voice. Not exactly the person he would have called his friend, he just happened to know the vampire.

"Shut up, sissy boy!" the oaf's voice boomed. Something bright flickered from underneath the door before a mass crashed against it. A hunter spell, Zero knew that light because he had seen that same technique being executed several times during his training with Yagari. 

Bones crunched- silence ensued, followed by the sound of a body being dragged away to the left side of the door. 

Zero, braced for action, gripped the metal hook firmer. He knew with his thumb melted useless, he can’t deliver much force but it does not mean he could not put up a fight. He brushed his hair away from his face with his bandaged left hand. The pain gnawed him raw. 

Blood! The beast inside him screamed in the thirst.

No, shut up! Somehow, he had to focus. 

Heavy-breathing-mammoth may have the advantage of being able to see him from outside and anticipate his attack but there was still something the fucker did not have-vampire speed.

"You have nerves, Kiryuu. Innovative, I forgot those hooks could kill. The others couldn't even move after a taste of my special binds. Why can't you be a good boy and accept your end like an E should?" the oaf’s loud voice boomed.

Others? Zero wondered. Then it made sense. The inch-thick mud on the floor was no ordinary mud, they were wet vampire ashes. Carnage was written all over the walls in splatters of crusty reddish-browns. Heavy-breathing-mammoth had a lot of practice in torturing vampires to death- wonderful.

"Put that thing down or I'll make you regret!”

"Make me!"

The bastard snickered. "Sure, why not?” he said.

The air moved and a white searing pain combusted in Zero’s chest. 

Everything went black.

0000000000

Currently, the curious and admiring stares he received from the general public were grating on his nerves. They were not to be blamed of course, he stood out like a sore thumb by wearing a dark sharply cut suit in the sea of T-shirts, shorts and scanty tank tops. Seiren was nowhere in sight- she had gone after the luggage.

As expected, the airport was thrumming with humans. Kaname wondered why Yuuki had an obsession with Okinawa. Not only there are hordes and hordes of tourists, the island was swelteringly humid. It will be painfully hot and sunny in daytime. He doesn’t hate the sun but the giant fireball just had always been vicious to their kind. The fairly sensitive skinned Aidou no doubt will be burned bright red like a lobster in no time. Well, at least that will prevent the noble to ogle at bikini clad girls which Kaname was sure were bound to be plentiful at the beach- or to his consternation, Aidou ogling at a bikini clad Yuuki. He growled at the thought, accidentally scaring a few innocent passengers.

The phone in his pocket rang, the cartoony ringtone indicated that it was Yuuki. She had swiped his phone and assigned that annoyingly childish jingle as her tone, an opening theme song to her favourite anime, she said. Since then, he had been dreading her call. The mortification he suffered that one time she called during a meeting with the hunters was one of the bad memories he earned. He forgot to set the blasphemous device in silent mode- all eyes had turned to him, some eyebrows were twitching but the hunters were too full of themselves to laugh. 

Save for Cross Kaien of course, the Hunter Association President turned into chibi-mode self and asked if he could talk to Yuuki. A smirking Kiryuu Zero fuelled his humiliation aflame. Naturally, both men must have known Yuuki's quirks since she had grown up around them.

"Please come back home, Kaname-sama. Something happened," Yuuki’s voice was laced with panic. She had even forgotten to her greetings.

"Where are you? Are you alright?" he asked, his eyes caught Seiren approaching and motioned her to come over.

"At home- we never left, and I'm fine. But can you board the next flight back?" Yuuki seemed desperate. He could tell she was trying her best not to cry.

"Calm down. Tell me what's wrong, Yuuki," he doubted he could do anything to comfort her. Yuuki's breath hitched. Seiren had set the bags down and waited for his instructions, calm and composed as ever.

"Somebody attacked and took Aidou-senpai. There was blood everywhere. They found the Bloody Rose at the scene," her voice faltered. 

Somebody? They found _his_ gun and she still thinks he had nothing to do with it? 

Her voice jolted him back from his thoughts , "I don't know what to do. Please, come back Kaname. I need you," she sobbed. He was not sure for whose sake she was crying though- Aidou or Kiyuu? He has a feeling that it was mostly for the latter. Surely enough, jealousy coursed through his veins.

0000000000

Somebody was slapping his face, an annoying voice urging him to open up his eyes. There was that faint whirring sound again, cold and he shivered. He could feel nothing, physically he was numb but the raging demon in him was screaming for blood. Stand down you monster!

"Snap out of it, Kiryuu! Wake up!" the shrill voice was splitting his head open. 

"Kiryuu!"   
  


A pair of hands slapped his cheeks repeatedly. In reflex, he reached out and grabbed those offending appendages. A bad move considering the amount of damage he sustained before. Hot searing pain racked down his spine. Groaning, he released the captured hands.

The owner of the voice hissed, and then quietened as the person moved a few steps away. An angry pair of feet stomped around.

"Idiot, you transferred the vile liquid thing onto me!" the voice shrieked. The smell of newly burned flesh filled his nostrils. "Fuck, it's not healing. This is hunter shit!" Strings of profanities echoed in the room. As far as he could recall, that particular person was too snooty to swear.

So he was wrong, Aidou Hanabusa has a mouth of a street rat.

Zero blinked his eyes open, it stung. Even the small movement stung. His limbs felt like they were being grilled over red hot embers. Not good at all, his eyes must be glowing crimson at the smell of the other vampire's blood. The thirst for blood magnified his torture. 

The blond was tearing up his own bloodied shirt sleeves and fashioned a sloppy bandage around his hands. Long iron chains trailed from the wrists, the ends attached down to an eyelet on the floor. 

Bringing up his own hands, Zero realized he too was shackled in a similar manner. Those were hunter issued restraints, he could tell. The metal itself was burning their imprints into his already abused flesh, thank goodness the detrimental hunter juice had slowly lost their effect. His hands were no longer bleeding but, they were not healing as they should be because of the blood he lost. Damn, he was so thirsty he could barely move.

A pair of angry red eyes suddenly snapped at him. "Have you gotten enough beauty sleep? Wake the hell up, will you?” 

Those red orbs were supposed to be blue.

Not good, but Zero glared back anyways. Again, even the smallest movement hurt, he winced. The throbbing in his chest cavity returned a tenfold. He realised that he was covered in blood, his own blood. Definitely not good because two desperate, thirsty vampires in close proximity were formula for a cannibalistic bloodbath. Speaking of bloodbaths, Aidou's clothing was stained with drying crimson. The noble was injured too but lucky for him, being a noble class vampire has perks- Aidou should be healing faster than he was.

The realisation frustrated him. "Fuck off, Aidou!” Zero decided to shout back.

"Well fuck you too!“ The blond huffed and brandished an accusing finger at him. “This is all your fault,” he added.

"Shut up, airhead! How can this be my fault? I don't remember inviting you over," he glared at the blond, longing to smash his fist into the infuriating face. He would, if he could because at the moment, his pathetic excuse of bandages was dripping anew. His body was struggling to repair itself but whatever substance he had gotten onto his skin was eating the new regenerated cells away. 

  
Damn, it burned so bad. 

Aidou ignored Zero and continued working on his own version of makeshift dressings. The blond had torn off the other sleeve of his expensive looking cream coloured silk shirt and wrapped the fabric around his left forearm. "I swear I'll chop your hands off of these shit scars," he groused, tugging one end with his teeth into a knot.

Zero heard the distant trudge of heavy footsteps approaching. He wanted to keep on annoying the blonde but looks like it wasn’t possible anymore. "Maybe later princess, because here comes the ogre," he warned. 

Aidou must have heard them too, his face hardened and he tugged on his chains as hard as he could. It did not budge so Zero snickered, "Those won't break, your highness. You'll have to think of other ways to get out of here intact."

"Oh, excuse me for having a drive to live. What the hell's wrong with you lying stupid like that? Do something productive!" Aidou spat, but he ceased his fruitless effort with the chain. Then, he closed his eyes and concentrated, his brows knitted before he growled in frustration, "Great, my ice went on a vacation, I am powerless and why the hell are my hands not healing properly?"

Zero's legs wobbled as he tried to stand up. The heavy chains made it harder for him to lift up his useless hands. The smell of his corroded flesh sickened him and both of them were heaving for breath. Although he would rather shrivel into dust than admit it, both of them needed to work together and apparently the blond understood because the impulsive airhead had moved closer to him, his glowing red eyes mirrored back his own.

Hoping Aidou would cooperate, he tried to guide the vampire, "Keep it down, the buffoon has eyes in here." He motioned to the camera above the door and Aidou gave him a look saying as if I care. Zero wanted to roll his eyes but it will only be a waste of energy- Aidou was a stubborn spoiled brat.

He realised that the footsteps has stopped and only then he noticed the absence of the rusty meat hooks. There goes his potential weapon of choice.

He shifted closer to Aidou and hissed into his ears, "The bastard who hauled us in here is a hunter- unfortunately. So get that prissy head of yours straightened because none of the vampire stuff works as long as we're in these things." He shook his chains to emphasize his point. Aidou's eyes widened in panic but he stayed quiet so Zero continued, "He got me bad and as you can see my hands are useless and he had sealed your powers too. Obviously, I'm as good as dead but the bastard evidently had other plans since you are here too."

The blond head cocked to one side and his eyes narrowed. Why would anyone want to keep the both of them captive? Why would anyone want anything to do with a volatile ex-human hunter and Kiryuu was obviously considered worthless amongst vampires- a Level-D is expendable. But why was he there too? Why had the obese human able to lure him by merely citing that Kiryuu was dead? He had never cared for the silver-haired vampire hunter but the news surely meant something to him because somebody else would.

Oh, right. There was something he had in common with the silver-haired imp after all. 

"The Kurans?" Aidou choked out the dreaded answer.

“So they didn't call you a genius for nothing, ne?”

000000000

Ever since Aidou had first set his eyes on the vampire hunter, he noticed that Kiryuu Zero had always been an abnormally pale boy; lithely built, strong, snarky and forever scowling as he was permanently mad at the world. However, seeing the boy's face completely blanched, limbs trembling disturbed him. The hideously deformed hands hung limp, bounded by thick chains. Blood trickled from the long mangled fingers onto the dirty floor. Zero was obviously in a lot of pain. Panting and heaving while trying his best to retain his coherence, he looked like a corpse. Well, he would be one very soon if he kept straining to break off the manacles, thought Aidou.

The next second, the ex-human was crouching on the floor and stepped on his chain with a bare foot to gain some leverage in his futile effort to forcibly slip his hands through the cuffs. The footsteps had stopped for a while but there was some muffled angry bickering behind the door.

"Good thinking Kiryuu, feel free to amputate yourself," chided Aidou.

Zero grunted a response and gave another tug. Hard. 

That got to hurt, Aidou cringed.

He admired Zero's hot-headed stubbornness but impulsiveness would get them nowhere. Wait, _them_? Aidou mentally smacked himself. The hunter would definitely not include him in his escape plans since Kiryuu Zero is the epitome of a murderous vampire hating hunter.

A few crunching followed by some sluicing sound made him sick. Then the hunter lowered his still shackled left hand to his side, controlled his breathing to fight off his agony, willing his face to form an emotionless mask, eyes fiercely set on the metal door. Without a doubt that his right hand was severely compromised.

Aidou grimaced but the sheer will and determination scared him. "You're crazy," he hissed but Zero ignored him. The free but injured right one was now cradled tightly against his chest.

There was the barest flash of something Aidou could not catalogue as Zero straightened up, smirking. He took on an awkward offensive pose with his left hand still bound to the floor. "Remember senpai, we need the bastard alive," he chuckled darkly. 

Before Aidou could utter a comeback, the heavy door swung open with a thunderous boom.

In a flurry of movements, Zero had somehow deactivated his restraints and engaged himself in attacking their captor. It seemed to be miraculously working too easily because after some not so efficient jabs and punches, the lumbering giant was sent crashing down onto the floor with a break-neck, vicious drop kick.

Impressed, Aidou caught the ex-human's warning glare before he moved in to kick the fallen bastard repeatedly in the gut. Aidou knew Zero knocked the lights out off the guy but there was no such thing as overkill in his books. One for making me care for Kiryuu for a millisecond, two for breaking my ribs, three for slicing me up, TEN for turning me into the first AIDOU to get vamp knapped.

Zero did nothing to stop him but his face was a picture of disgust. 

"That was far too easy," Aidou huffed, placing his right foot on Mr. Ogre's windpipe. The name suits the ugly beast of a human, who cares if he borrowed it from Kiryuu. That same bastard had been the very one who hauled both of them in earlier. Maybe Kiryuu was simply caught off guard. As for him, he was too stupid for giving a damn about the vampire hunter and got his ass whooped.

"I said leave him alive, dimwit! He's human," Zero shouldered him aside and reaffixed the discarded manacles onto the unmoving body lying limp on his side.

"Oooh.. Sorry mister hunter, sir. I went on a trip to my dark side. Can't help it," he leered but ignored. Again.

"You're too soft. We need blood; he'll do just fine since it's a shame to let it go to waste. Just look at that puddle. Did you crack his head open?" It wasn't wise to rile Kiryuu up but Aidou couldn't help it. He was ignored again. Frustrated, Aidou kicked the human lump one last time and gave up.

Zero rolled the man onto his back using his foot and prodded the pants pockets with his toes. "What are you doing?" Aidou raised an eyebrow.

"Not using my damn hands, obviously. You call yourself a genius?"

It was a queer but enticing sight, Zero giving his all to stay sane, teetering on the edge of his bloodlust, eyes stained red, barefoot, his hands hanging uselessly by his sides, shivering in the cold blast of ice. His tattered shirt had slipped off his shoulders, exposing the tightly sculpted muscles rippling under that pale luminous skin. Aidou wondered how it would feel under his fingertips. That bold tattoo on one side of his neck was soiled by the red crusting blood from his head wound. The tantalizing smell of that exotic hunter wafted in the room enveloping Zero's steady heartbeat. If only he could get a taste. Just a little, he was so thirsty. Oh, he could try, if he wanted to have his head split open and brains splattered on the floor by one of those brutal kicks.

There was no warning when Zero yanked his chains roughly; forcing him to growl in protest and reminded him that he was not out of the mess yet. "So you do remember- help me get rid of these!" he barked indignantly, jangling the manacles in front of Zero's face.

The silver haired vampire raised his light eyebrows and smirked like a troll. "I don't trust you,” he said at the same time, brandishing a nasty looking boot knife and pressing the blade firmly against Aidou's jugular. How could he underestimate the hunter's paranoia? Aren't they all like that? By the way, thanks for the knife, Mr. Ogre.

"See if I care,” Aidou sighed, pushing Zero away from him. It wasn’t hard, making Zero stagger a few steps back. The blade nicked a millimetre into his skin and it stung. Hunter weapons sucks.

Aidou let his face contort into pure disgust. "You could've just killed me if you didn't trust me," he spat. "Just stick that thing in me now or stop the melodrama and get us out of here!" Aidou's patience was stretched thin. He wondered what had made Kiryuu Zero so special to the Kurans. Surely Kaname loathed him but the pureblood still tolerated the vile creature to the extent of sustaining his worthless life. The sacred blood of his revered leader was coursing in those filthy veins. He must have done it for Yuuki. Yes, Yuuki was a whole different story. Girls were always drawn to mysterious rebellious types all the time. Besides, Zero's surreal dangerous beauty was one thing to be seriously reckoned with. Wait, did I just think he's.. what? Focus, Hanabusa.

The silver haired, bloodied hunter despite his bravado to appear strong, was still panting so Aidou decided to show some compassion. “Face it, you’re hurt. No matter how pigheaded you are, you need me as much as I need you to get out of this mess," he tried to reason. "So will you get this thing off me?” Aidou held out his bound hands again. He could see some purple creeping back into those wary irises as they relaxed a notch, like a tamed animal. "I won't move unless you tell me to. I swear," he couldn't believe his own words. Aidou Hanabusa, pleading? Why does my words sound so.. ugh! Never mind! God, Kiryuu's so dead once I get out of this shit! The amused smirk on the other boy's face set his temper to boil. Patience Hanabusa, suck it. Breathe.

Surprisingly, Zero complied, he stepped closer to Aidou and carefully touched the manacles with both hands- his blood dripped onto Aidou's open palms. The scent of those crimson droplets slammed into Aidou’s senses and he could feel his fangs elongating. There was nothing human left in those veins. Nothing but a minuscule of his hunter heritage changed and mutated by the abundance of power that came with the purest blood of their kind- the two Kurans and his maker, Hiou. To his consternation, Aidou wanted a sample and the vampire hunter knew. 

The noble flinched as he saw those magnificent amethyst orbs searched his own, weighing his decision- his own red tainted blue ones reflected back in them. They were standing too close together for Aidou’s comfort. Which vampire would be comfortable having a capricious vampire hunter breathing down their neck? It was like challenging death in a duel. That placid face showed nothing but the eyes, the eyes had an eerie glint in them. 

“Please,” Aidou finally swallowed his pride. He shuddered when he saw corners of Zero’s lips upturned, forming the littlest smile.

The noble felt the metal warmed against his wrists before it came off clattering down onto the floor. "All you have to do was say please, senpai," Zero smiled evilly at him before turning away and walked towards the unconscious lump of menace on the floor as his face burst aflame. Did Mr. Popsickle just smile at me? Stop gaping, Hanabusa. You can kill him now, that fucking tease! Kill him! Kill him! Gaaahh!

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> April 5th, 2020: Yuuki is not my favourite character- can you tell?
> 
> Let’s see how fast I can upload all 17 chapters of this story.


	4. The Dog

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written in 2010. Un-beta-ed. Attempting to write in English still required a loooot of work for me- even now in 2020. Before reposting, I tried to make corrections here and there because according to my beta(s) for my other works, well, their usual comment was that my sentences are strange. That, my dears is the result of thinking in another language and trying to write it in English. Be sure to switch your self-autocorrect is on.
> 
> P/s- Forgive me for some Yuuki bashing. I’m just jealous of her. Gomennasai.

Yuuki had flung herself into Kaname’s arms as soon as he stepped into the mansion. The old butler welcomed him with a deep respectful bow before taking the luggage away from Seiren's hands. Stroking the messy, brown tresses, he noticed her red, puffy eyes- Kaname bent down and kissed her on the forehead. 

"How are you, Yuuki?" he asked.

"There is no news of them. What should we do, Kaname?" she said, ignoring his query regarding her well being altogether. A feeling had grown in him that he had never felt before- a resentment that made him stiff and hard knowing exactly for whom she was crying for. Kaname willed his displeasure to take on an indifferent mask. Seiren had disappeared, her silent efficiency never ceased to amaze him.

Nobody would be reckless enough to harm Aidou, he believed. Compromising an heir from a prominent vampire family comes with dire consequences. But Kiryuu Zero was another whole different case. That impudent mouth of his alone will be enough to trigger his termination. "I'm sure things will be fine," he said with deliberate gentleness.

He certainly knew that Kiryuu was still breathing somewhere. How? Because he could feel the faint pulsing life of that silver haired vampire in his heart. Weak but stable. 

Kaname had never expected to develop a connection with the hunter after _donating_ his pure blood, by permitting the ex-human to drink from his very neck on a few occasions. Of course he could feel Yuuki too but it was natural because they had several exchanges from time to time. Was she able to sense that mongrel? Kiryuu Zero used to feed off her and she, his paramour, had always secretly pined for that dirty ex-human's blood since the day they officially parted. The day she had tainted herself with that lawfully forbidden life source- the blood of a hunter. 

Wouldn’t there be some sort of a link between them? 

Judging from her level of distress- no.

Kaname tightened his arms around Yuuki in silent comfort. “ _He’ll_ be alright, Yuuki.” He formed the words against her temple, “You’ll see.”

  
His voice was hard and inflexible. Its lack of sympathy must have hurt her, but still, he was her only hope at the moment, she shuddered against him. “I’m scared,” she whispered.

  
Slowly, Kaname withdrew- first mentally, and then physically as he took hold of her shoulders and forced her to stand away from him. It wasn’t what she wanted from him but in her current state, she couldn’t resist him.  
  


0000000000

"Would you care to tell me why exactly we are still hanging around here, Kiryuu?" groused Aidou. “Shouldn’t we get out of this place?”

They were currently holed up in a dank old office on the upper floor of the meat processing plant. Musty furniture and cobwebs were the telltale signs that the place had long been abandoned. Huge letters painted in red spelling "MIDORI" were painted on the grey zinc walls. No wonder they went out of business. Midori.. hah! Green meat, anyone? 

Aidou had called his father's head of security, Takahashi, using a cell phone they found on the knocked out hunter. That was the only call he had been able to make before the battery drained. He prayed Takahashi would get to that plant in the middle of nowhere soon because dawn was approaching, golden streaks of light were peeking over the horizon. The plant was set deep in a forested area with a gravel road leading deeper into the hulking trees, no vehicles were found within the vicinity. Their captor had not been working alone.

Running his fingers through his dirty hair, the blonde fought his instincts; his body was begging for the desperately needed rest but given the current scenario, it was not an option. Being stuck with Kiryuu Zero alone was already a sizable risk given the Level-D was severely hurt and it will be only in a matter of time before he would lose his mind to the thirst. 

Imagine, a Level-E Kiryuu, tearing off his throat in his bloodied craze. If Es were nasty to deal with, a hunter trained E would be catastrophic. 

Come on, Takahashi. 

Although the assailant had been contained, they had yet to uncover the motivation behind the whole thing. He and Kiryuu are two odd choices to be abducted. If it was to be killed, yes, Aidou could see the logic. When it came to Kiryuu, there were a bunch of people who wanted him dead before he would become a bigger threat; a vampire hunter was as dangerous as a caged tiger. He will bite when he gets the chance. Not that he cared.

Kiryuu and himself both had taken a good look at their kidnapper- middle aged, dressed in no nonsense attire consisting of a long dusty coat over a plaid shirt and dark pants- nothing remarkable. The weather beaten, grizzled face was unfamiliar to Kiryuu although he was without a doubt, a hunter. There were no identification documents either. Kiryuu laughed in his face while citing that there was no villain stupid enough to carry IDs on his person.

How should he know? There was nothing special about Mr. Ogre apart from his imposing height and a crooked nose. He doesn't look anything like 'experienced' and 'cunning' as Kiriyu had previously warned. However, that mumbo-jumbo with the seals and spells Mr. Ogre used was something he had never seen before. Maybe Mr. Ogre was good, but Kiryuu Zero was better and way much hotter. 

Wait a minute, Hanabusa. Gaaah, no he's not! I hate Kiryuu! I hate Kiryuu Zero! I hate Ze.. No, no, no! I hate Mr. Bull-Headed-Impudent-Popsicle!

After securing the bastard in the freezer, the vampire hunter decided to sit out in a corner of that small office space. His long legs stretched out on the dusty floor, arms hanging awkwardly by his sides while his face hidden beneath the long messy silver bangs. His lips were no longer blue from the chill.

Aidou had silently followed him up there- safety in numbers. Even if there were only two of them. Hell, after watching the silver haired vampire's in action, successfully getting their asses out of the ice-box with that swift assault on Mr. Ogre, Aidou made a deduction- Kiryuu Zero was the current and remaining potential danger, and he was crazy enough to stick around the temperamental hunter.

Kiryuu appeared to be sleeping but Aidou suspected otherwise. The boy was struggling to get his body under control. Without blood, he needed time to heal. Although he had little experience with Level-Ds, he knew well enough that Ds succumbed to bloodlusts easier than the rest of them. He hoped Kiryuu would pull through eventually because Aidou could not afford to have a raving mad ex-human hunter chomping on his hide- not in his current weakened condition. He couldn’t even freeze an ant. The hunter manacles had messed up his circuits.

The wretched gun, the Bloody Rose was nowhere to be found and to his delight, Kiryuu was less threatening without his firearm. He was bored. He needed something to get his mind off his own thirst before help would arrive so perhaps he should bug the hunter.

Yes, he was thirsting. The deep gash that lumbering oaf inflicted on him earlier was no joke. It had closed but left him sore but bruises were fading and so were those burns on his wrists. Lucky for him it was summer, or else he would have frozen to death in his filthy torn shirt. 

God, he was bored. 

Fine, he could tease Mr. Popsicle a bit "Hey, are you still there?" 

No response. Fine, try harder! 

"Should I kiss you back to life?" he taunted, crouching down by the passive figure. Aidou deliberately dropped his voice lower, like the way those screaming fangirls back in Cross Academy were so crazy about- just to be annoying.

It worked because Kiryuu snapped. He shoved Aidou away and sent his most lethal death-glare at him, hissing, "I certainly did not remember inviting you to stay. Go away, princess!"

Princess? Satisfied with Kiryuu’s reaction, he scoffed at the nickname while dusting himself up, "Why, I certainly did not know you were thinking of me that way, dear knight."

Aidou snickered as soon as Kiryuu flushed red, jumped to his feet, turned away and cursed under his breath, “You’re utterly ridiculous!”

How cute was that? Wait.. I did not just say he was.. Gaaah! No way in hell. But he certainly was. Gaaahh! Stop it! Stop it! I hate hunters! I hate Kiryuu! I hate Kiryuu because he's damn rude, selfish, dirty, sexy, incorri.. What? Snap out of it, Hanabusa! Bad hormones, evil hormones, go away hormones!

Fisting his hair, Aidou opened his eyes to study the silhouette of the other's back. He found himself admiring the strong sinewy muscles, that graceful neck begging to be ripped open- he realized it was the first time he saw so much skin on Kiriyu. To his ultimate horror- he liked it. He liked it, and imagined him doing all the possible things to get that beautiful being crushed, conquered.

Aidou adored beauty but beauty that belonged to undeserving lower beings deserves should be destroyed- he remembered the old teaching well. Forget the teaching; why not let his nature decide? Kiryuu was an enemy, a hunter. Death by his noble hands would be condoned. But then he'll become one of those vampires that his revered pureblood abhorred. Curse his vampire hormones. You're above that, Hanabusa. Kaname would scorn you to your grave. Figuratively of course, an urn will do just fine.

"Seriously, there's no need for you here. My people could handle this from now," he ranted, but paused when he noticed Zero's broad shoulders stiffened.

“Just shut up. Why are you so eager to see me leave?”

"You’re half-dead and useless. Need I say more?” Aidou tried his best to sound haughty like he was supposed to be plus he resented the faint twinge of concern lingering in his heart.

"Really, senpai?" the silver haired vampire turned to face him so fast sending plumes of dust swirling in the small space. Aidou coughed and clamped his mouth with his hand. "Refresh your memory a bit, you blood-sucking genius. That bastard argued with someone and I doubt it was the misus. Take that scum away with your rescue party quietly as I'm staking this place out. I have no time to deal with you," the piercing amethyst still held some red in them. 

They look so pretty like that, he thought. One should pry them out and preserve in nitrogen freeze and give them to Kaname-sama as a trophy. Snap out of it Hanabusa! Bad, bad, bad vampire!

Then it turned into a staring match. The amethyst took on red again, anger crept into those alluring irises as if the silver haired vampire hunter read Aidou's dark thoughts. The noble was just about to open his mouth with a sting when a shadow dropped down not more than three feet away from him from the high ceilings.

There was the glint of a long metallic blade. He jumped back and his eyes caught Zero brandishing the boot knife out to attack. His own senses flared in alarm and made a quick assessment of the newcomer-tall, with a face that looked fortyish, a lower-class vampire. 

Aidou recognized him instantly. “Takashi, Kiryuu, stand down, both of you!" he shouted but the hunter hissed and kept his stance. The sword was also raised to an offensive stance.

"Have you both gone deaf? Sheath your weapons, now!" he growled furiously at the two. The head of security reluctantly backed down, sheathing his katana but Kiryuu remained guarded.

"He's one of my men, Kiryuu. Stop acting crazy!”

Kiryuu’s lips took on an eerie grin as he eyed the dark haired Takahashi, his eyes knowing.

Aidou wrung his hands, frustrated "Hell, you're so stupid! I. Know. Him. Put that thing away. I'm getting out of here,” Aidou’s patience was running thin, the vampire hunter still had his killer sights on Takahashi.

"Aidou-sama, master is waiting for your return. We must go," Takahasi said, his tone held a bit of anger.

"Ah yes, I recognise you. You’re the Aidou's alpha dog- I've seen you around.” The vampire hunter was still sizing up Takahashi when he leered. 

"Of course he is, Kiryuu. Now get a grip- you're acting like one of those delusional hunter crack-heads. It’s over. Let's go Takahashi. Instruct the others to extract that scum in the freezer," he ordered and the green eyed vampire who in turn, nodded in obedience.

"Yes, Aidou-sama,” said Takahashi. 

"But do tell me, _Aidou-sama_. Are you sure Taka-chan is truly your dog?" Zero leered disrespectfully.

Aidou fumed but he did notice a subtle twitch in Takahashi's composure. Better to trust one of his own than a manic Level-D, "Shut up and just go, Kiriyu! I. Have. No. More. Patience for your games."

"You might want to listen to me this time, because I think Takahashi here might have discovered the physics of teleportation," uttered Kiryuu, wearing a mockingly earnest expression. Like a schoolboy lobbying for his teacher's approval. God, he's delusional AND annoying.

Sensing Aidou's worsening mood, Zero pointed the tip of the knife at the still guard. "This dog of yours arrived too swiftly, don't you think?" the hunter snickered and gestured to a yellowing piece of paper lying innocently on the floor with a bony finger. There was some sort of an address printed boldly across it.

Aidou's brain went to work; there were some numbers; and he saw the connotation of Zero's rant. The postcode showed the place was at least eighty kilometres away from their hometown. It was an impossible distance to be covered within minutes of his call for help.

Which means, Takahasi had been there all the time.

Seeing the mild panic in Aidou's eyes, Zero grinned smugly. "I take your silence as an affirmative then. That means I am right if you agree,” Zero punctuated his words by throwing the knife precisely into Takahashi's right kneecap. 

Howling, the Level-C caught Aidou violently by the shoulders and shoved the noble away, which sent him crashing into the nearest wall.

  
  



	5. The Princess

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> April 6th, 2020- Twelve more chapters to edit *headdesks*. Have you bookmarked this story? You’d better if you’re interested. I intended to just copy and reupload my original work but... no, I can’t. Not that my English writing has gotten any better or anything but if you got the chance to read them on ffnet you’d notice the difference. I’m starting to doubt myself now. We are our own worse critics, ne? Do you know there is a part 3 of this series? I was ambitious back then, yes I was. Pray for my ability to finish this editing and moving exercise before my country’s pandemic prevention restrictions ends. I wouldn’t have time if life goes back to normal. Be safe ya’’ll.

Yuuki's heart thumped wildly as she made her way swiftly towards the study, not bothering to change out of her silk lavender nightgown. She liked the way the cool fabric brushed against her legs and the colour reminded her of _his_ eyes.

The soft slippers cushioned her hurried steps on the cool marble floors. Kaname had requested for her to get some rest upon his arrival at the mansion hours ago- she obeyed him, initially. But as soon as she sensed Ruka and Kain's arrival, she couldn’t possibly go back to sleep. If Kaname thought that she would meekly back down and let him push her out of the loop, he was wrong. 

Initially, the dark haired pureblood prince took the news of Aidou's disappearance very calmly over the phone but seconds later, she could feel the dark undertone in his words. When he had arrived home, it took her quite some time to figure out the oddity of his composure until that moment she broke down and cried before him. His handsome face held a subtle amount of grimness and the tone he used to send her back up to her room to retire had not been the least kind. Despite his aloofness, sometimes Kuran Kaname can be read like an open book, he disapproved of her concern towards Zero. She had to be more careful.

Dim lights were spilling out from underneath the double doors of the study, the scent of the two familiar vampires that had aroused her from her troubled sleep earlier grew stronger. Kaname had beaten her to them. Their urgent voice was slightly muffled by the thick woods. Yuuki hid her presence as much as she could and stood by the door.

"But Kaname-sama, the Aidous were outraged by the Hunter Association's denial regarding this crisis. Something must be done," Ruka sounded angry.

"Calm down, Ruka. We have no solid proof of Kiryuu’s connection to Hanabusa’s disappearance," the calm, mellow voice undoubtedly belonged to Kain, Aidou's cousin.

Ruka must be furious because there were a few sharp clicks of heels hitting the hard flooring and a loud slam of palms beating wood, "His gun was found at the scene, Kain. That's proof."

"Enough," it was Kaname's voice, quiet but commanding. Yuuki's had goosebumps, the two noble must be cowering under Kaname's dangerous aura. 

_Why was he so angry?_

Almost a minute later, Kain broke the painful silence, "Forgive us, Kaname-sama. Despite who he is and his obvious dislike for Hanabusa, I do not believe Kiyuu has anything to do with Hanabusa's kidnapping."

In response, Kaname's bad mood escalated. Ruka inhaled sharply. Knowing her, Yuuki pictured the pretty noble glaring daggers at the tall redhead. Kain continued anyway, he explained, "Regardless of the implicating evidence, the weapon was never used on Hanabusa." Kain had a point there.

After a long pause, Kain went on, "The gun had been wiped clean of fingerprints, the security camera-feed had been sabotaged prior to the attack and there were traces of an unidentified human at the scene. Judging from the amount of blood spilled and traces of tissue and unique minerals at the car park, I believe Hanabusa had been subdued using hunter spells. There are a fraction of hunters that have that kind of skills but not Kiriyu.”

Good work, Kain-senpai. Yuuki smiled. However, her happiness was short-lived when she heard Kaname's irritated response. 

"So, you're taking Kiryuu Zero's side,” Kaname said.

_And what’s wrong with that?_ Yuuki nearly shouted from the hallway. Why does Kaname hate Zero that much?

"I'm merely speaking from an objective point of view, Kaname-sama. Hanabusa's safety is my top priority but I'm not going to jump into preconceived assumptions and ignore the evidence," answered Kain.

Surprisingly, Kaname's turbulent aura simmered down. "Very well. In that case, tell me what you know, or at least your suspicions,” said Kaname.

Kain proceeded to brief Kaname about Takahasi, the head guard of the Aidou family suddenly vanishing especially when his services were critically needed since the young master disappeared. According to Kain, the man had loyally served the family for decades and has impeccable work ethics. Nevertheless Kain believes Takahashi should be investigated.

Yuuki heard the sound of impatient fingers drumming lightly against wood. She knitted her brows weighing the possibilities- was it an inside job? Did Takahashi do it? As far as she knew, no ransom had been demanded from the wealthy Aidous. Plus, there was the issue with Zero. Why would anyone want to implicate the vampire hunter? 

"Kain, inform Seiren of Takahashi's last whereabouts. Then, go to Cross Kaien, find out what he knows.”

There was a rustle of fabric, a creak, as someone stood up from the leather chair, metal wheels squeaked- Kain and Ruka readying themselves to go. 

"And Ruka, tell Yuuki to get herself ready to accompany me on your way out," said Kaname.

"O.. of course, Kaname-sama," Ruka stammered, clearly confused.

Yuuki’s breath hitched, so he knew she was eavesdropping after all. 

000000000

Aidou’s body impacted the mouldy drywall in a sickening crunch, disorienting him. He groaned painfully but immediately struggled to get up from the debris of broken furniture and crumbling gypsum.

As Zero watched the dark haired vampire unsheathe his weapon. Takahashi reached down to his knee with his other hand and yanked the knife out. The vampire threw the blade aside, sending it skittering not far from Aidou's location. Blood spurted from Takahashi’s wound, elevating Zero's bloodlust to a whole new level, elongated fangs now protruding from his lips.

The Level-C licked his own blood coated fingers and snarled at Zero, "Die, you worthless E shit!"

Zero dodged the first slash and distanced himself from the vampire. He noticed Aidou had gotten back onto his feet and then grabbed the discarded knife by the blade- foolish. The metal immediately burned his skin.

"I want him alive, Kiryuu!" warned Aidou, he adjusted his grip so he was holding the hunter knife by the hilt.

The vampire hunter said nothing back as he was busy evading Takahashi’s attack, staying out of hacking radius. Although Zero's movements were a bit sluggish, the bodyguard's footwork was equally messy because of his leg injury. Aidou realised that Zero was tiring out rapidly due to his injuries and Takahashi, a seasoned fighter, was quick to exploit that weakness.

Takahashi shouted furiously, lunged forward delivering another fierce round of slashing. Zero wove around dodging the blade but the bodyguard had managed to kick him in the stomach, sending him flying into a rusty filing cabinet in a thunderous crash.

In the other corner, Aidou held his breath as he watched Zero try to stand but doubled over in pain, coughing up blood. Then, Takahasi’s blade came back swinging once more. To Aidou's panic, Zero wasn’t moving fast enough. The blonde gritted his teeth and waited for Takahasi to land the finishing blow. 

_Kiss your sorry ass goodbye, Kiryuu Zero._

Growling like a trapped animal, the ex-human crossed his forearms out in front of him as his last defense, hoping it would somehow block the sword from his torso. 

00000000000

All he had to do was a dumb error, Zero gritted his teeth as he saw his opponent’s blade descending on him. In one last desperate attempt to prolong his survival, he readied his already useless arms hoping he could manoeuvre the katana away from his body, or his neck. The chances for him to walk out of this ordeal was slim to none but he refused to die by the traitorous guard dog.

All of the sudden, yellow streaked before Zero’s eyes, metal sunk into flesh and he heard the Level-C howl. He caught sight of a knife embedded deeply in the guard dog’s right shoulder. 

_Aidou_! 

The noble saved him. 

Aidou staggered, collapsing backwards against the wall, his hands on his abdomen, the katana embedded in his stomach. Aidou must have come in between them, stabbed Takahashi but got skewered along the way. 

_No, no, no, not the stupid airhead!_

"Why, you stupid idiot! You want to turn to fairy dust, you pigheaded princess?!" Zero shouted angrily, closing into Takahashi and grabbed the protruding knife by the hilt. Racking his brains, he recited an old hunter spell Ichiru used to practice over and over again during their childhood, Zero was terrible with charms. He channelled all of what was left into the knife- energy charged the anti-vampire metal.

Takahashi's eyes rolled back and he crumpled down to the filthy wooden floor. The low-level assault had actually worked. Zero was not particularly gifted with those sorts of methods but it was Ichiru's favourite, the paralysing spell. His sickly twin used to spend his bedridden hours memorizing and reciting those kinds of things, and if Ichiru's bragging was right, the guard dog would be out for a few hours. It was not too complicated but it does require a weapon being sunk into vampire flesh and Aidou had helped him by doing just that. 

_Shit, Aidou!_

The air was thick with the scent of blood. Aidou lay on his side in a pool of crimson, eyes tightly closed and grimacing as he tried unsuccessfully to pull out the katana. His palms bled as he gripped the razor sharp blade and tugged weakly. It was not an anti-vampire weapon, thankfully- Aidou wouldn't die from the stab alone but the noble will bleed to death if he can't get the blade out soon. 

_What a pathetic waste, but at least he's conscious_.

Zero stepped closer, warm blood slippery beneath his bare feet as he crouched beside the blonde. "You’ve just pulled an extremely stupid stunt, senpai,” he chided as he assessed the injury. It was bad. Aidou had been pierced through and through. _‘Let the vampire be. Just watch the wretched scum die,’_ said a voice from the dark recess of his mind. 

Aidou coughed up blood, whimpering in pain as he tried to curl into a foetal position. Aidou shifted his head towards him, that aquiline face was marred with blood and grime; Zero observed the blue eyes glazed, rapidly losing focus. He could feel the demon inside him trashing against the invisible bars he had tirelessly enforced, his bloodlust grew stronger, control over his mind slipping and his hands had grown into talons. 

Aidou shrank back, whimpered and stared at him in horror. Zero didn't need mirrors to know his eyes were flaring red, fangs hanging out of his lips, and angry veins bulging beneath his skin. He was approaching his limits- soon he will be no different than those level-E vampires he hunted.

The blond let out a strangled cry when Zero settled his left hand on Aidou's hip and gripped the katana with the other. "You saved me, but don't expect me to thank you," he whispered into Aidou's ear, not recognizing the metallic tone in his own voice. The silver haired hunter held his breath and swiftly pulled the blade out.

Aidou screamed out in agony.

0000000000

She had been uncharacteristically silent during the long ride to Kiryuu’s place. The graceful fingers fisted her lilac cotton knee-length dress for the eighteenth times, crinkling the fabric into a crumpled mess. Her pristine white, kitten-heeled shoes contrasted against the dark burgundy carpeting.

Kaname reached out to brush her long brown locks away from her face but she flinched from his touch. 

Taken aback, he combed his fingers through his own longish brown hair in quiet frustration. He had been sorting out his feelings in regard to the incident. He will never voice it out, but he was worried for the two missing vampires and he did not like it at all.

At first he was unsure of how he should react to the news, to Yuuki's distress but, when he felt the first pang of jealousy after discovering the real reason for Yuuki's anxiety, Kiryuu Zero. Carefully, he found the perfect mask of indifference to wear in front of her. The truth was he was angry. Angry at whoever was responsible for snatching his favourite pawns away. Well not exactly, Aidou Hanabusa was the pawn, Kiryuu Zero was a whole different category. He was his toy, a live moving, explosive tempered, breathtakingly beautiful unique doll for him to manipulate. Thinking about the kidnapping was enough to make him feel homicidal.

It must have shown on his face or his slip in controlling his aura because she immediately stiffened, and looked nervously out of the window, pretending to be captivated by the shifting white clouds up in the clear blue skies. Yuuki truly did love the day time. Often, she had compared him to the blazing sun; he was her light, she said one day in her dreamy schoolgirl monologue, her source of life and her reason to tread the earth. Kaname had looked at her unbelievingly before she blushed deep red and whacked him not too gently with her book. Trust adorable little Yuuki to come out with such cute metaphors. But she was not that little girl anymore, he realised- sitting in front of him was a young woman who would soon grow out of the need for his protection.

He studied her slightly haggard face reflected in the black tinted window. There was no need to guess what goes in her mind, of what she was thinking as it was evident even in the colour of her dress. It was the same colour that reminded him of that vile amethyst eyed creature. _His_ vile amethyst eyed creature. Kaname came to an abrupt full stop, his own conclusion surprised him. Was he not mad at Kiryuu for worrying Yuuki? He was mad because Yuuki is worried over Kiryuu?

Pushing his internal battles aside, Kaname set his eyes on the petite vampire beside him. "Why won't you look at me, my love?" he placed his fingers under her chin and gently tilted her head so he could peer into her magnificent eyes. The reddish brown pools swirled with emotions and for a while, he resented their expressiveness. Will you feel the same for me, Yuuki? He wondered.

She surprised him by carefully wrapping her arms around his neck, pulling him down to her petal lips. Her eyes closed as she kissed him softly, the chastity of the contact tearing him up. There was no warmth, only the reassurance that she was there, present, right before him. Her heart, which he has always had securely tied down to his own had temporarily departed to reach out to him. And she was letting him know.

"You're so cruel, Yuuki," he whispered into the delicate shell of her left ear. Her pulse quickened as he bent down to plant butterfly kisses on her delicate neck. She shuddered when he encircled her small waist and kissed her urgently. She moaned when he held and pulled her closer, touching her the way he knew she liked best, feeling her sweet warmth radiating against him.

Kaname bit her bottom lip lightly, she parted them and he seized the opportunity to deepen the kiss, savouring her taste, a swirl of vanilla and berries, rememorizing every terrain of the soft palate,reminding her that she belonged to him and only him. She hummed her appreciation and reciprocated.

Yuuki had slipped her hands under his light jacket; the gentle digits caressed his torso, worshipping the perfect planes of his chest and his strongly muscled back. He gripped her waist, angling her so she could sit across his lap, straddling him. The silky caresses felt so right against his white silk shirt, she was on the right path to his undoing.

Suddenly, she stopped. The vehicle made a right turn and gradually slowed down. He closed his eyes in painful frustration and heard her bubbly giggle. She cupped both sides of his face adoringly to kiss his forehead.

Yuuki shuffled back to her seat, Kaname missed her comfortable weight immediately. Her small fingers smoothed out his tousled hair causing him to sigh. "I promise I'll make it up to you once all of this is over," she whispered in his ear, blowing pleasantly warm air against it. "And I'll grant your every single wish," she said softly, pleading with him to understand, "Even if it breaks me."

He snapped his eyes open staring at Yuuki who immediately opened the car door with an unusual grace and stepped onto the sidewalk. She looked up wistfully at the dilapidated red brick building before turning to gaze back at him. Her intricately embroidered lilac skirt billowed in the balmy wind. Her face was a picture of poised calm, waiting for him to join her; she didn't even smile at him like she always does.

0000000000

He could not see anything. It was so dark and it hurts. It just hurts.

"Senpai!" somebody shouted. Then, his dark world shook back and forth. He groaned.

Sharp bony fingers were gripping his jaw too roughly. Then he felt his face being slapped. 

_Ouch, let me sleep, stupid!_

He must have said his thoughts out loud because the bony fingers pried his eye open and he heard the angry hiss. "Sure princess, go to sleep and die!" 

There are two red dots in the big white blob obscuring his vision. 

_I'm a boy, who are you calling a princess?_

Then, it was gone.

"Tch, you have an impressive mouth for an almost dead leech," the voice grumbled. Aidou strained to open his eyes. However, the blackness continued to envelope him. He was fading. "Fuck, I'm too soft," the voice added. 

He strained to identify to whom the voice belonged to before his world shifted and tilted again. So annoying, can't he get some rest. His stomach felt like it had been ripped out, minced and stuffed back in.

He heard some shuffling movements followed by the friction of something being dragged. Disorientated, his mouth was pressed against something cold and clammy. A warm pungent liquid filled his mouth and invaded his throat. Disgusting. He spat it all out. The aftertaste made him want to heave.

The bony hand hit his face again, "Hell, princess! Do you know that you're half dead? Spoiled, picky, ungrateful girly boy!" The voice growled. 

_Who wants poison? Leave me alone_.

Moments later, his nose picked up a pleasantly nice smell. Something dripped on his lips, seeping past them onto his tongue. Moaning, he opened his mouth and he was rewarded with more in thick rivulets. It was sweet with a hint of spiciness. Light was starting to flood his vision, a fraction of the thrumming pain he was feeling earlier faded, and then suddenly to his anguish, it ceased to flow.Aidou clawed blindly for the source of that delectable nourishment. 

_Blood, give it to me!_

He saw the bleary outline of the source of his bliss collapsing down not too far away. The faint thumps of a heart beating sluggishly drew him on like a beacon. 

_Don't stop, give me more!_

"You better not remember this afterwards, or I'll fucking come back and kill you," that familiar voice rasped at the same time he pounced, and then instinctively sank his fangs in that yielding flesh.


	6. The Boy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enter Tomohisa! He’a an assh*le but he’s important in this AU.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> April 6th, 2020- This is the second chapter I’m posting today but... Where. Did. All. Of. My. Italics. Go? Ugh, I can’t..!  
> OMG I’m too tired. I’ll fix it later. Maybe. Someday. *groans*

"Zero..."

"Hurry, Zero... I don't want to miss it..."

His limbs were as heavy as lead. He was breathing hard, jogging alongside another person. It doesn't make any sense.

"Come on, run faster…! I thought I was the weak one," a boyish voice said. A small frail hand caught his, pulling him on running at a faster pace. 

Who are you?

He glanced at his companion, a young boy around ten, eleven? No, he couldn't tell. Brats are still brats after all. It was dark and they were cutting through a desolated pebbled path in some park. Was it a park? He couldn't really tell. It must be, because wooden benches and flower beds are park things right? 

Darn, it's so hot. Where the hell am I?

They had stopped sprinting, gradually slowing down to brisk strides as soon as they skirted the path. Twigs and dry leaves crunched under his black steel-toed boots throughout the steady uphill climb. 

What an odd, unfashionable choice of footwear.

Somehow his feet knew where they were going and kept up with the panting, light haired boy. The other boy’s pale hand was clutching at the front of his olive green T-shirt. Unlike him, his companion wore plain white sneakers and was not lugging any heavy duffel bag on his back. The boy had a slight pungent chemical smell lingering around him, like antiseptics and hospitals.

"We're here!" the boy exclaimed. "Now don’t you dare start complaining and ruin the moment, Zero. I'm fine," despite his wheezing, his exotically coloured eyes shone in excitement, breathing harshly as they stopped at the edge of a high cliff overlooking a picturesque view of a small town. 

Why are you calling me by that name, little boy?

"Look, Zero! Look at the view,” said the boy, spreading his arms theatrically as if to gather the caressing night breeze into his embrace. "It's so pretty, even lovelier than thine eyes I love. No, I take it back, naught can surpass your magnificence!”

I must be dreaming.

The boy laughed prettily. A sense of fondness spread warmly in his heart. He wanted to laugh at the silliness of the little thespian’s words but instead of teasing the silver haired aspiring thespian, he involuntarily stepped forward and stood shoulder to shoulder beside him. They must have had the same height because they fitted perfectly when the boy pulled him close and meshed them together- the boy smiled at him. It was awkward on his part but the boy seemed to like the closeness of the contact, so he bears with it.

Nevertheless, the boy was right about the view; light shone through hundreds of quaint windows, illuminating the streets which were bustling with festivities. Multi-coloured paper lanterns hung from electrical poles, giving away a soft glowing ambience. The townsfolk were like colourful dots making their way westwards towards a Shinto shrine erected on a hilltop. Although crickets and cicadas drowned the human din in the distance, he could still feel the energy washing over him. There was a festival down there.

Suddenly, he felt himself being pulled down to sit on the soft green grass, his duffle strap fell off his shoulder when the bag hit the ground with a thump. The boy frowned at him, crowding his space. "Hey, where did Tomohisa-sensei drag you this time? It's no fun being stuck alone with Yagari-sensei. You're barely home these days, Zero. Why do you need another teacher anyway?" whined the boy.

He saw those eyes again, they were like amethysts. He knew those eyes. ‘Why are you calling me Zero? I'm not..You are..’ he wanted to ask, but his voice didn't come out.

"Why is Tomohisa-sensei always hurting you? I hate it when he hurts you," the boy choked out in between his laborious breathing, there were tears in those eyes. “Why am I not allowed to be together with you?” the boy added, he felt a small fist punching his arm.

Strangely, he felt his own chest tightening and blood draining out of his brain. The feeling was similar to those times he was caught doing something worth angering Kaname-sama. But this time, he realised that this was not his distress.

Almost trembling, his hands had moved to reach out and wipe off a straying teardrop on the boy's cheek, and then he heard himself speak, "It's not like that. He took me out to the hunters’ northern outpost to.. to train.The things he taught me would… would strain your body. I don’t want you to get sick." Lies, he was lying. He recognized the nuance in his voice. Was it fear accidently woven in those words?

It seemed like the boy caught the lie too, letting out an angry hiss, the boy lunged forward, grabbed his right arm roughly, tearing off the cuff buttons in the process of yanking the stiff cotton shirt sleeve up. "Then why he did this to you?" the boy shouted in frustration. “Tell me!”

Panic seared across his heart, he stared down at the rope burns around his wrist. Ugly welts criss-crossed, raised bumps disfigured the pale skin of his inner forearm. 

When did I get this? How?

Again, his body moved on its own, yanking the appendage away and hid the hideous marks by pulling down the sleeve as much as he could.

The boy launched himself at him, slamming all of his bodyweight, tackling him down onto the grass and embraced him too tightly. "Don't hate me, Zero! I'm so sorry," he cried, the front of his light blue shirt was getting wet. "He's so mean and I can't do anything to stop him. I'm weak. Please, don't leave me," the boy begged.

He felt his eyes water.

The sky lit up with a burst of colourful fireworks. 

"I'm not going anywhere, Ichiru,” he heard himself speak. His fingers buried themselves in the soft silvery hair and he found himself humming an unfamiliar tune to comfort the stricken boy. He had called the boy Ichiru, he was with the Kiryuu twins- he realized belatedly. In some way, what he was experiencing must either be a dream or a fragment of their past from Zero's standpoint.

If whatever he was experiencing is true, he found it hard to believe that the hunter twins were once close. Wasn’t it the younger twin, Ichiru, who had lent a hand in the destruction of his own family?

His eyes closed as he hugged the other boy lying on top of him. 

"I love you, Zero," it was the last thing he heard before the sky exploded with the blinding colourful bursts of light, illuminating the night.

He was no longer lying on the grass.

There was a pair of bare feet surrounded by flowing silk. A faint tinkle of a bell registered in his eardrums when the feet moved away. The little boy was gone. Here, he was paralysed. He couldn't feel anything, he couldn't breathe, and he couldn't hear the words being said by a young, silver haired boy standing by the open door.

A familiar scent flooded his senses, there was too much of it. After straining to get his vision to focus, his stomach churned upon settling his eyes on the bloodied carnage in the room. Two bodies; a man and a woman were sprawled in awkward angles, bathed in pools of red. A fragment of whitish bone protruded from a horrendous slit across the woman's throat. Blood leaked slowly from the cut, seeping in-between the varnished floorboards. He didn't dare to cast his eyes on the broken man. He was sure the man and the woman meant something based on the anguished suffering he was suffocating in.

He too was broken.

It hurts so much, I can't move. 

Still, the magnitude of anguish he was experiencing overrides the searing pain on the left side of his neck. Soon enough, the helplessness was replaced by hatred as soon as the tall, willowy woman with the beautiful silvery white hair glanced spitefully at him. She then walked after the smirking boy out of the room. That was her! The kimono clad, blood drenched female slaughterer undoubtedly was Hiou Shizuka. 

God, the dead were Kiryuu’s parents!

The ghastly images faded as fast as it started and he woke up in a dank room filled with strange looking weapons hanging off the walls; axes, guns, chains and knives of all sorts and sizes made a menacing sight in the dim light. He could not move as he was securely strapped down to a wooden chair. There was another presence in there with him.

"I'm truly disappointed in you dear boy," somebody whispered in his ear. He was hurting and he recognized the cause of all too well- blood lust. The left side of his neck stung like it had been punctured and pierced over and over again. 

Pain, pain, pain, pain!

His shirt was streaked with horrid red.

A hand yanked his head back forcefully, and then he stared into a pair of fiery amber eyes. Their intensity bothered him. "It was rather discourteous don't you think? Choosing a stranger as your guardian when you knew you could have simply come to me," the man said, strong fingers gripped his chin cruelly when he tried to look away. He was afraid, cold fear slowly creeping and coiling around his heart. 

What the hell is going on?

"How could you push me away?" the man asked, a disgustingly wet tongue licked the column of his throat all the way up to his cheek, stopping there as the voice spoke again, "You ran away even though you knew you were my favourite." 

The stranger’s mouth mauled his lips in a brutal kiss, teeth clacking, sinewy tongue curling around his own- he wanted to puke. Rough hands carded through his hair, uprooting hair, bruising his scalp. 

Get the hell off me!

He screamed. It felt like he did.

Then rough hands were gone, replaced by small ones thumping against his chest, "You evil troll, Stop being mean to Kaname-sama!" The voice belonged to a girl, whiny and high pitched. He smacked them away. Heated jealousy slithered and coiled in his stomach. 

What now?

He was no longer strapped down in that putrid, dark room but somewhere much cosier and homely. Delicious smell of freshly baked cookies wafted in the space. He was beginning to dread these changing scenes, it confuses him.

It was some sort of an old kitchen. A kitchen won't be dangerous, right? Or comes with an abusive pervert.

"I don't get it Zero. People say good cooks have big, soft caring hearts but you never give up acting like a terrible, terrible, terribly mean goblin," she said, the little girl with big brown eyes pinched him hard on the arm while munching on a heart shaped cookie. 

Great, another snivelling brat. Here we go again.

He groaned inwardly.

"That is because I am one. Here, eat another cookie and grow fatter. See if your Kaname-sama still likes you then" his mouth spat out. Again, his body moved on its own and stuffed a piece of pastry in her already full mouth. "And don't inhale your food," he chided. He found himself letting out an obnoxious snort when she spluttered and choked. The girl comically downed a glass of water in one continuous gulp. 

Dear heavens, it's Yuuki-sama.

Low airy laughter reached his ears and he spun around, homing on the source. A boy with dark brown hair was smiling secretly at them while sipping something from his cup. 

Huh, Kaname-sama? 

He turned away abruptly, and to his horror, he blushed.

What the hell is happening? I'm not me, it's Kiryuu- this doesn't make any sense.

The scene changed again, he was walking in some sort of a passageway made of old granite, carrying something limp and heavy in his arms- someone limp and heavy to be precise. There were no signs of life, the body was dead. Sadness, despair, remorse, and rage were breaking his core like a giant oceanic swell. 

I'm not the one feeling all this. He reminded himself.

There were piles of rubble in the distance, smoke and dust filled the starless night air. Something about the destruction seemed familiar to him. He had been there too. When he glanced down at the lifeless body, cataloguing the longish silver hair falling over the still but familiar face, he realised he knew that person. Kiryuu Zero? 

No, it's not Kiryuu Zero if the body does not bear the neck tattoo and the juvenile piercings. He recognized the person belatedly- Kiryuu Ichiru. This was the night Kuran Rido's games came to a catalytic end. And also the incident in which Kiryuu Zero lost his twin.

He had made it outside. A creeping feeling of being watched made him lift his head up and locked eyes with none other than the Kuran siblings. Strangely, he had felt nothing, just cold numbing nothingness as he shifted his gaze from a forlorn Kuran Yuuki to the unsympathetic Kuran Kaname. The cold unfeeling eyes had torn out his soul. 

Yes, but why does it upsets you, Kiryuu when you seem to despise him too?

Images flashed and overlapped; Shizuka Hiou was smiling ominously as he heard her metallic bell tinkled when she turned to disappear, replaced by a tear-stricken Yuuki. As if she was pleading, her silent words never reached his ears but he smelt it, tasted it, her powerful blood and then the vision of her blurred out.

There was that hot amber eyes again which ignited reminiscences of terror and pain. They too slipped away as soon as a hand reached out from the dark abyss. It wrapped around his windpipe- tightening, and tightening as a pair of reddish brown eyes appeared. He could recognise them anywhere, Kuran Kaname- angry and determined. Like a broken dam, red water flooded in- he was drowning.

In a blink, the red was gone but another hand clawed at his collar and yanked him down to peer down at the still face of Kiryuu Ichiru. He was holding the cold corpse again. All of the sudden, the eyes snapped open- red veins webbing the whites around brilliantly angry amethyst. He let the body drop. Standing up, Kiryuu Ichiru advanced towards him, moving like a stringed marionette. He was no longer Kiryuu Zero because he saw the vampire hunter walking away, vanishing into the shadows.

The stiff, dead hands caught him by both arms, pulling him so close to the now decaying face before he heard the rotting human shell snarl, "Release him!"

Aidou was shoved off the cliff overlooking the shimmering townscape. Fireworks blinded his eyes at the same time as he touched the hard packed earth, skidding and spinning uncontrollably before crashing back into reality.

He was back.

He could smell danger. 

He felt real pain and he choked for air.

As soon as his vision cleared, he saw those sharp amber eyes boring into his soul. Those eyes belonged to a human and that very human had his hands wrapped dangerously around his throat, cutting off his air supply. Too bad that was not enough to kill him. Which twisted demon had granted Kiryuu’s phantom permission to follow him back out? 

He struggled. 

Speaking of that damned Kiryuu, where the heck is he? What the hell had happened?

"That would be enough. The D is still alive." Somebody else spoke from the shadows of the room. He was back at that Midori place again. There was a strangely pleasant aftertaste in his mouth. He knew he had done something bad. But what was it? He couldn't remember. The strange fleeting images still lingers in his mind.

The amber eyes narrowed and those hands pulled away, giving him the full view to the man's features. 

He gasped for air. 

Still coughing, Aidou studied his attacker. The man was about forty, rather tall, light haired and of course, human. Odd, he had never seen him before but those freaky cat eyes are familiar. Come on Hanabusa, boot up your brain already. Focus, focus, focus! There are at least two of them. Where the hell is Kiriyu? Which D is still alive? Who would care if a D was alive? Stupid imbeciles!

Before he could react, the man grappled him down, pushing his face against the rough, dirty wooden floor boards and snapped his wrists into some sort of metal cuffs. It burned him immediately. 

No, not hunters again- I'm so screwed!

A hard kick to his midsection flipped him onto his back. 

Great, deepen that cursed hole in my gut.

The amber eyed man sneered at his confused expression when he realized that he was no longer bleeding there.

“Just like magic, huh? One moment you're in the process of dying, turning to dust and the next moment you're fine,” said the man derisively. “Can't you remember anything you've done, mangy bloodsucker?"

The man yanked him up by the hair, forcing him to sit up in a kneeling position to which he growled defiantly, earning a tight slap across his face, splitting his bottom lip. At that moment, he saw Kiryuu’s still figure lying too still on the floor and there was another person crouching down beside him. Like the tall amber eyed cat, he too was wearing a black business suit and a slim black tie. 

"Hey, haul that useless Takahashi over here. It's time for this blond brat to pay back his dues," the amber eyed man ordered. 

The other one with light brown hair and gave him a quick affirmative nod and walked over to another motionless body beside Kiryuu. He didn't need to see the face to notice something about the other one- he was a noble class vampire like him. 

What the hell? Hunters and vampires just don't work together. Something deep in the pit of his stomach told him that both of them meant deep trouble.

The noble unceremoniously dragged the unconscious Takahashi by an arm across the floor. The sleeve of that arm was torn away and there was some blood still seeping out of some jagged claw marks on the inside.

"It was quite a scene you know,” amber eyes leered. “I can't believe a hunter, particularly a hunter I used to train, would go this far for a worthless bloodsucker." the hand gripping his hair was unusually strong for a human. "First, he tried to save you by forcing Takahashi's blood down your throat. But obviously it's not up to your taste."

Yeah, I must have spat it all out. Oh my God, what have I done to Kiryuu?! 

He could still taste blood in his mouth. Kiryuu must have tried to feed him Takahashi's blood to help him recover. But he had rejected that vile, pungent red liquid.

Aidou's mind reeled in mortification when reality hit him- those dreams he experienced could only mean one thing- he had drunk from Kiryuu instead. His grievous wound was healing, his muscles and tendons were knitting back together which means, he must have had taken a lot, which also explains the strange visions earlier. Those were not hallucinations. Those were fragments of the vampire hunter's memories that had slipped into the blood he had stolen. He had drunk the blood of a hunter. It was as taboo as drinking from a pureblood. 

Oh, I'm so dead.

And those amber eyes, that vision in the weapon filled room seeped into his mind again and the cold fear Kiryuu had remembered all of it at once. What heck really happened in there? The name. He had a name. Kiryuu Zero had felt the same cold fear when his twin brother said it in those memories.

"Tomohisa," he hissed it aloud.

He must have been right because the amber eyes widened momentarily before morphing into pure contempt. If this was Tomohisa, it means that the man was a hunter. Aidou groaned inwardly. 

Tomohisa and his partners had propped Takahasi up half sitting, half lying against the nearby wall. "Now, you shall drain Takahashi dry and then revive Zero,” he said. Aidou had failed to notice the real colour of that light shoulder length hair before. It was silver, the same shade of silver like Kiryuu.

"Sure, when hell freezes over. What made you so sure I’ll follow your orders?” Aidou refused. He knew exactly what the hunter wanted and judging from the state of his already healed injuries, Kiryuu Zero had done nothing to stop him from overfeeding earlier. Why?

"You better not remember this afterwards, or I'll fucking come back and kill you," Kiryuu’s last words resonated within the walls of his mind.

‘Come back,’ so he said. Aidou pulled his lips up in a bitter smile. If Kiryuu had wished to find a way out of his pathetic life, he was not going to be the one to bring him back.


	7. Chapter 7

If Yuuki was expecting a battlefield, she would have been sorely disappointed. Zero’s spartanly furnished apartment has been searched by the hunters and vampires from the Aidou clan for clues.

According to Akatsuki, they found nothing but there was some lingering blood scent by the door. That particular lead did not interest the vampires. Kiriyu was the main suspect in Aidou's disappearance so they dismissed it as something of no importance. Besides, the silver haired boy was a vampire hunter- bleeding from injuries comes with the job.

At the moment, Yuuki was kneeling down to study the old creaky floorboards by Zero’s door. It had been wiped clean in certain spots. The poorly lit hallway made the spots easy to miss. Although somebody had made an effort to erase it, there were still blotches of dried blood left in between the coarse, wood grains. The vampires sent by the Aidous had caught it too because they certainly had lingered around the area judging by the scent they left mingling there. They should have been able to guess to whom it belonged to. Again, bloodstains don't interest vampires. Especially if the blood belonged to their main suspect.

Kaname was hovering near her. Yuuki could tell that he wasn’t interested either, he mind was in another place. 

"I wonder if the hunters noticed these blood residues,” said Yuuki, certain that Kaname would listen. “Perhaps Aidou-senpai's men did but I doubt it was them who cleaned it," she said dryly, prodding the old wood with her fingers. Her long brown hair cascaded around her like a veil. "Most probably they didn't. Not without our noses," she sighed while trying to pull her hair back.

Kaname sighed inwardly. The hunter's wouldn't even care for a vampire, even a missing one that was once one from a distinguished bloodline. They wouldn't bat an eye if they had to put a bullet into Kiryuu Zero. It was the pressure from the Aidous or maybe Cross and Yagari that made them scour the place. He doubted those hot headed genetically spiked mules found anything.

"You know how Aidou-senpai loves to show off his knowledge. Just the other day, he taught me something that may come in handy in times like these,” she said, while examining the wooden floor closer.

Kaname watched her transform her hands into talons and pulled out the foot long section of the board in one swift motion. "It was during the _'Embracing Our Beasts within Class'_ or so he called it," she chuckled sardonically while plucking out the long rusty nails off the corners like they were pins. “He taught me some tricks so I became better at controlling my body transformations,” she added.

It was like watching a child taking her first steps, it enthralled him but he refused to let it show. Aidou had done well teaching Yuuki. The years living with Cross humanized her tremendously, so Yuuki was not an easy student when it came to topics concerning her true vampire nature. Leave it to Aidou to come up with such effectively silly teaching methods.

Yuuki was right; the underside of the plank was smeared with the coagulated fluids of that dirty Level-D hunter. If it wasn't for Yuuki, he would have loved to burn that contaminated thing into cinders. She immediately sensed his disgust and smiled at him apologetically before setting the piece of timber to one side.

Kaname did not show any reaction, or voiced his curiosity regarding the piece of wood she had carefully wrapped with her white silk shawl. Holding it close to her, she beckoned him to follow her into the apartment. Secretly, he was intrigued by her actions, leaving her to continue with her perusal. The meek, melancholic shroud she had worn in the months after her transformation was slowly dissipating and replaced by the old determined vigour he had so admired during the time they were at Cross Academy.

Yuuki twisted the doorknob and grinned mischievously at him as she broke the brass contraption off. It seemed that she liked her new capabilities. Perhaps she did- like a plain human suddenly bestowed with superpowers. People usually like that sort of thing, a gift to change their fate. There were even movies made using that theme. Somehow a certain miserly silver haired soul could not see his fortune. The boy was strong willed but too prideful.

Kaname followed her into the small room. Nothing was out of the ordinary apart from signs that it had been ransacked and combed for clues. The air was thick with the presence of both hunters and vampires and there was a faint scent of that missing impudent creature clinging to every piece of spartan furniture he owned. Everything from the overturned bed, the paper scattered desk, the clothes strewn on the floor, the open bureau drawers and even the flimsy curtains; all smelled like him. He lived there. This was his. He felt strange as he had used the past tense to think of him. It was like the vampire hunter was never going to come back. The heaviness tugging at his heart as he thought of it irritated him. It irritated him greatly because he was supposed to destroy the filthy creature by letting the mess escalate by doing nothing and instead he was clandestinely encouraging Yuuki to devise her own plans of rescue just because he could not. She had a solid reason to be concerned and he did not. So, he would stand beside her and watch.

Yuuki moved towards the desk placed by the window and sifted through some papers. Then she picked up a particular piece and brought her right hand to cover her mouth, stifling her anguished cry. She was going to break down again. It was an old picture. Cross had his arms around a young, smiling Yuuki and murderously scowling Kiryuu. Kaname remembered that time; it was the second month after Kiryuu had been brought to the odd household, not a few weeks after the table knife stab incident. It was him who had snapped that particular picture, to which he had reluctantly agreed to after Cross's persistent whining to commemorate the new addition to his family. Yuuki had been elated but he could not say the same goes to Kiryuu.

It surprised him realising that Kiryuu had kept that particular picture. Maybe it was the only picture taken when he was still mostly human. He had the taming tattoo etched onto his neck several months afterwards. Maybe it was to remind him of his goal to kill Kuran Kaname. That look on his face was purely directed to him, a pure blooded vampire he loathed playing the family friend behind the camera lens. ‘I'll destroy you’, was what those amethyst eyes had said- loud and clear.

Kaname plucked the picture away from her quivering hand and tucked it into his coat pocket. She turned to him, horrified. He was not going to do anything. "I'll hold on to this for you until you can return it to him yourself," he assured her.

She nodded. "Aren't you angry?" she asked carefully, wiping her unshed tears away.

"No, why would I be? He is your family regardless of the circumstances,” Kaname managed to give her a wan smile and reached out to tuck a stray strand of her long silky brown hair behind her ear. “Let this be an education, an introduction to our dark and twisted world, Yuuki," he spoke as kindly as he could. "Instead of anger, I should feel proud on account of your determination. Although, it is regretful that we the pure bloods ourselves have to soil our very hands in this matter."

"There is more to their disappearance, Kaname. I ask for you to understand. I'm worried for senpai and him both," she spoke, lowering her head, hiding her face away.

So she was concerned about my wrath. He chuckled, making her snapped her eyes disbelievingly back up at him, "I'll hold on to my word, Yuuki. An education, I'll be your teacher this time. Show me all you had learned during the times I was away and don't hesitate to say his name in my presence."

"But, why?" she was gripping the blood soaked wood even tighter to her chest.

"I shall not deny that I loathed him," he said to her bluntly and she nervously averted her eyes again. "But, my love for you outweighs my personal sentiment. He was once a part of your family and that's enough to make him infinitesimally tolerable. So, let us not linger on petty things since time is precious.”

She nodded in agreement, "Yes, let's not waste time." Her smiles warmed up his heart, "And thank you." She embraced him, pressing that horrible piece of wood between them.

"Seriously, stealth could be a curse sometimes. My eyes are tainted," a sarcastic voice startled them and in response they turned to find a bored looking, tall, redhead leaning against the doorframe.

Yuuki broke away from him and confronted the hunter. She was calm, but Kaname could sense her impatience. "I did not remember calling for you Takamiya-san."

"Yes, you reached out to the President Cross but too bad he's caught up in the bureaucratic things," the hunter informed, straightened himself up and sauntered casually over towards them. "So, he sent me instead,” he added.

Kaname studied the green-eyed man who had slipped through his defenses. Only one of the top notched hunters was able to do that and it angered yet relieved him at the same time because Takamiya Kaito was bound to be as annoyingly rude as Kiryuu but reliable and trustworthy enough to be sent by Cross Kaien. Like it or hate it, Yuuki had anticipated that they do need a hunter on their side at the moment.

"You didn't call a hunter out just to watch that bizarre melodrama or perhaps to stake you with that piece of wood, right?"

Oh, he will be annoying alright.

0000000000

They were back in the giant freezer, minus the cold. The motor was not whirring and grinding anymore which means the goons must have switched the evil contraption off. His shackles were snapped back on but they left Kiryuu lying motionless about five feet away from him, breathing hard and eyes still glowing red even in his weakened condition. Aidou doubted the vampire hunter was lucid. If he hadn't drained Kiriyu to that point, any Level-E would have long snapped any necks within reach and sucked them dry.

Tomohisa, or should he call, Mr. Amber Eyed Cat went to free the cursing giant lump of menace from his chains while the vampire noble deposited the unconscious Takahashi callously onto the mucky floor. Aidou made giving out nicknames to baddies his newest hobby.

Presently, the bad guys were argueing.

"Look at this fucking mess, it wouldn't had happened if you got here on time!" shouted Mr. Ogre at the other two as soon as he pulled out his own gag. 

_Oh look Hanabusa, the Three Stooges._

The suit-clad vampire immediately seized Mr. Ogre up and delivered a swift blow into the abdomen, sending the giant crumpling back down onto the floor. 

"It wouldn't have happened if your ears were connected to your brain. Get out and guard the door!" the vampire barked at the fuming hunter.

Regardless of the order, the lumbering fool tried to launch a counter attack on the vampire but stopped by Tomohisa. Aidou wanted to laugh. So the hodgepodge trio were not such good comrades after all.

"Do as he says, Gouda. You're making us look like a joke in front of the snotty kid," Tomohisa caught the other hunter by an arm and shoved him away. Surprisingly, he obeyed. "And you, Kurohashi, get a grip so we can get some work done. We'll deal with Gouda afterwards."

The noble called Kurohashi gave the defeated Gouda an evil look before sauntering over to Tomohisa. In turn, the silver haired hunter patted the noble on the shoulder and led him towards the captives.

Aidou watched the whole scene in puzzlement. 

_Oh.. you're screwed Hanabusa. The villain's knee-deep into chain bondage. Thanks to you, that damn Kiryuu’s out. Takahashi's a traitor. You should have called Kain instead earlier. Stupid, stupid, stupid Hanabusa! Hope to escape.. Nil. There's Mr. Amber Eyed, silver haired hunter who scared the shit out of Kiryuu, well, the little boy in Kiryuu’s head was scared of.. Who looks like the leader of the ratty trio. Mr. Ogre's name is Gouda. Rank.. henchman. The brown haired noble is Kurohashi. The name does ring a bell but who cares for one of those brackish water nobles. Rank.. Tomohisa's bitch. No sane Lavel-B will work for a hunter and that pat looks too chummy. Great, here they come. Prepare to die. Help me, Kaname-sama!_

Tomohisa's cold eyes sent tremors down his spine. The man was so tall that he had to crane his neck upwards to return the glare. "Kneel, vampire," he ordered.

"Quit the foreplay you bastard. You know I would never obey you," Aidou spat at the hunter.

"Sure, I've anticipated that," the amber eyes narrowed as he smiled wickedly and Aidou's internal alarm flared. As in slow motion, he saw the brown haired noble brandish out Takahashi's sword and plunged it into his right foot, skewering it to the floor. The pain jarred his senses but he willed himself to stifle his urge to cry out. Aidou caught the satisfied smirk on the menacing face as he felt a sharp kick behind his left knee which sent him crashing down into a kneeling position.

"That was a bit too harsh, Tatsuya. Zero needs all the blood he could get from him," Tomohisa's tone was more of an approval than displeasure. Despite the terrible pain in his foot, Aidou's temper escalated. He could feel his bloodlust emerging as the blood pooled around him.

The noble gave a disdainful smirk at Tomohisa and ran his fingers through his stylishly cut hair like a satisfied feline. "Takahashi will do just fine to make up for that loss. Throw Gouda in too if it's not enough," he drawled almost lazily in contrast to his fiercely green eyes. "You just gave away my name, _Atsushi_. So let's get to the point."

"Yeah, nice to know you dandy guys but you're leaving me hanging here. I'm no good once I start craving you know,” Aidou motioned to the growing pool of crimson. His foot was trying to heal itself around the blade and the agony was killing him. _‘Kurohashi Tatsuya and Tomohisa Atsushi are real names? Really, I'm dealing with stupid maniacs. Or they have no intention of letting us go alive. This is getting lame. But, Kurohashi? I know that name.’_

Kurohashi gripped his chin and tilted his face upwards, "You really can't remember me, can you? I've always hated your toffee-nosed personality," Aidou narrowed his eyes and growled at the contact. The noble smirked in return, "Then, how about Kurohashi Reizo, ring any bells?"

"What does that name have to do with this?" Aidou asked that other vampire. Kurohashi was wearing his patience thin. Not that he had much choice about it. Aidou knew that name. Kurohashi? 

_Come on Hanabusa. This may be the key._

Kurohasi was glowering at him. "You're hopeless, Hanabusa. How can you forget your adored tutor who had spent years polishing your so called immense potential? At least you could have remembered his name!" he shouted. A hard fist connected to Aidou’s jaw, knocking him off balance into a messy sprawl on the floor. The blade still held his right foot in place and the agony bursted anew. _My tutor for years? Who? Wait, Reizo? Could he have meant Rei?_ He was quite young when that particular teacher was appointed to him. The Aidous had several of them at one time. He couldn't exactly remember all of their names. But he remembered the similar piercingly green eyes.

"You mean Rei-san? So what? He’s dead," Aidou spat out. To his horror, the noble pulled out the blade and poised it over to pierce his heart with a trembling hand. The noble was livid. However, Tomohisa pulled him back. 

"You're not somebody who loses your composure, Tatsuya. Go out for a while and make sure Gouda doesn't screw up," Tomohisa said. Without a word, the noble trusted the sword into Tomohisa's hand and left the room. "Good job blowing off his top, brat. That was a first," the silver haired hunter sneered. A large hand grasped his chin and he was pulled up to his knees again. "Now back to business, aren't you going to ask what do I want from you?"

"Sure, what do you want from me bastard? Are you going to tell it all straight up like a good old, classy villain?" Aidou was tired of the mind-games, plus he was beginning to worry about Kiryuu.

The amber eyes lit up, "I wouldn't own up to the villain title but, since I'm running out of time, yes. I will."

"So why stall, Tomohisa Atsushi- _sensei_?" jeered Aidou and as soon as the hunter heard those words, he smiled eerily.

"You're much closer to Zero than I thought you were if you knew I was teacher, his master. Tch, I’m more that that but let’s save it for another time. What else did he tell you?" Tomohisa’s smile widened.

Got you, cat-eyed bastard! Two can play this game.

"Just enough to know who you are to him," Aidou purred mockingly. 

"And who am I? Pray tell," the hunter crossed his arms in front of him in anticipation.

"Someone of cataclysmic significance," Aidou grinned at the hunter.

"Nice try but that doesn't mean anything, brat, other than proving that you have a big vocabulary. Now back to business," Tomohisa scoffed as he unfolded his arms and bent down, bringing his face a few inches close to Aidou's. "Now listen to me carefully. I want three things from you.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> April 6th, 2020- Too many OCs huh? I was was young and stupid when I wrote this almost a decade ago. I swear I’ll get rid of some of them in the later chapters.
> 
> OC No.1 : Hunter  
> Goiuda a.k.a Mr.Ogre a.k.a Heavy-Breathing-Mammmoth
> 
> OC No.2 : Vampire (Aidou’s head guard)  
> Takahashi 
> 
> OC No.3 : Hunter (Zero’s pedo ol’ sensei)  
> Tomohisa Atsushi a.k.a Amber-eyed Cat
> 
> OC No.4 : Vampire (Aidou’s dead teacher)  
> Kurohashi Reizo a.k.a Rei-san
> 
> OC No.5 : Vampire  
> Kurohashi Tatsuya
> 
> And I wished I have written Kaname better. Why did I make him into such a bastard? Why? *shedding tears of regret* I don’t know how to potray the Kurans properly.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And the plot thickens. 
> 
> OOC-ness fest. Too many OCs. Gomen.  
> Warning- implied child abuse. Poor Zero.  
> Just a reminder, luv. This is an AU fic. ^^  
> If my sentences are wierd, that’s because English is like... my third language(?) Excuses... excuses.

"Zero, you idiot! Who’s going to get you out of this mess this time?” a voice chided him, but it was faint, just above a whisper.

Everything was black. 

He could see nothing but black and it numbed him. There were faint voices in the background, some men bickering.

_Am I dead yet?_

"No, you're not- just royally screwed," it was that low breathy voice again. "Hey, can you feel me?"

Cool hands stroked his cheeks, the touch barely there, but he still felt it, so he nodded his head weakly.

"It will really be a game over if you can't get out of this, Zero,” The familiar voice warned him. "We would really die this time.

_We?_

"Yes, I died once, brother. Don’t let me die again."

_Ichiru?_

"He's back Zero."

_Who's back?_

"You'll cry again if I say his name. Now, hurry- wake up!"

He awoke to the bursting sensation of being stabbed by thousands of needles. Gradually, he registered pain in his neck, a pounding in his head and a throbbing in his hands. He wanted to curl into himself to see if he could lessen the pain but instincts told him that he should remain still and assess the situation. 

He was not out of danger yet.

What the hell happened? 

He was cold- laying flat on his back on a wet, grimy surface- shirtless, barefooted and the left side of his neck felt like it had been hacked with a serrated knife edge. The chilling, piercing, pinpricks circulating in his loins was obviously bloodlust and somehow his clouded brain told him that his life was currently hanging by a thread. His body was short-circuiting, the dark vampiric engine sputtering trying to repair itself due to the blood loss, his mind eager to shut back down.

It hurts.

"You're much closer to Zero than I thought you are. What else did he tell you?" a man's distant voice resonated off the walls. Why was his name mentioned? 

Why am I still alive?

"Just enough to know who you are to him," a pained voice replied, breath ragged. 

Aidou?

"And who am I? Pray tell,” the first man taunted. He knew that voice; despite the smooth benevolent tone, oftentimes it echoed in his nightmares.

Please not _him_.

"Someone of cataclysmic significance," Aidou spat, like it was an insult. The man let out a tinny laugh which resounded in the space. 

No, do not anger that man!

Zero attempted to open his eyes but his eyelids felt heavy so he focused on moving his fingers- he couldn’t, not yet. His head throbbed worse as pieces of the previous events were starting to come back to him. Stretching out his senses, he felt a body lying prone a few feet away. A vampire knocked out cold- Aidou's traitorous dog. Then the stained walls came into view and he felt the heavy imprint of metal around his wrists. His nose picked up the strong smell of freshly spilled vampire blood wafting in the air- it tortured him immensely. The blood thirsting darkness in him screamed to be sated. Zero reigned it back into its cage.

Damn bloodlust!

"Nice try but that doesn't mean anything, brat. Now back to business," said the man, his voice kind but mocking. “Now play nice and listen, you want to get out of here, don’t you?”

Zero managed to squint and eye open, then the other one. Fuck, back in the damn ice box again? He got hurt again after all that work? That useless, snot-faced, girly boy vampire, Zero cursed. He wanted to continue vexing Aidou but he stopped because he heard some movements and Aidou inhaling sharply, but it sounded more like a whine. Did Aidou get molested? If the man is who Zero thought he was, Aidou’s sassing would only get him into deeper trouble. 

“I want three things from you," the man spoke again. "Sorry, Tomohisa, three wishes?” Aidou’s inane talent for brattiness was unrivalled, he should commend the blonde for doing a great job at being annoying but Zero reeled when he heard that name. “Even though I'm pretty, I'm not a genie, old man.”

Tomohisa?

Tomohisa- _sensei_?

Zero's mind numbed with panic. He forced his eyes to focus and he turned his head slightly towards the two. Standing bent over the kneeling blonde noble, the man’s well groomed silver hair was enough to confirm his dread. 

It can't be, it cannot be- no, no, no.. Not him!

The man from his nightmares had his back faced towards his direction. Aidou's eyes widened momentarily as they caught sight of him awake. "Stay down, play dead!" Those blue eyes seemed to plead. Tomohisa didn’t notice him stirring yet. He was a human hunter, humans don't have the senses.

Come on, Zero- move! Exhaling a careful breath, he willed movement in his fingers and toes. His organs were still aching and churning with bloodlust but at least he knew he could force himself to move now. "Ah… you wouldn’t need magic to do as I desire, pretty little vampire" Tomohisa's deep baritone sent cold tremors down to his core. “Why don’t you be a good boy and listen, hmm?” 

_Why don’t you be a good boy for me, Zero?_

Zero knew those words were meant for Aidou, that he was somehow safe for the time being but it would not be long before it was his turn. Zero clamped his eyes shut, wishing those kinds of words wouldn’t affect him anymore.

A set of footsteps entered the room. The newcomer did nothing to mask his presence, a noble class vampire and no doubt another accomplice. "Really, Hanabusa.. It wouldn't hurt to cooperate with us," he had a smoother tenor and almost lazily drawled.

"I remember you now, Sei-san. I've forgotten both of your real names. Still, I think I can recall the look on your brother's face the moment I shattered him to tiny icy shards..." Aidou taunted the enemy like he knew best but he was cut short and a series of thumps were punctuated by a muffled groan. 

Nice move, ice princess. You really want to die today. Who the hell is this Sei? Aidou knew the vampire? Faking unconsciousness was making a dent in Zero’s pride but he knew he had to, he needed time to straighten himself up. He shouldn’t let his reflexive fear towards Tomohisa paralyse him- easier said than done. "Enough, Tatsuya!" barked Tomohisa. Zero could picture the fury etched onto his face. He had seen it so many times. 

"Now, listen brat, unless you have an early death wish, I recommend you listen and learn to shut up your trap,” Tomohisa demanded."I'm going to tell you what you are going to do and why."

"You gotta be crazy, old man. What kind of villain spills his diabolical plans to the victims this easily. Who the fucking fuck made you believe that I will do as you say?” Aidou yelled, his bullheadedness really had no bounds. 

"Well I do and believe in myself obviously- I always get what I want," Tomohisa chuckled derisively. There was a slap, skin hitting on skin resulting in Aidou hissing like a cornered cat. Tomohisa clicked his tongue. "That ought to teach you to think before shooting off your mouth. Look at me and listen carefully- first, I want your testimony against Kuran Kaname in regards of Hiou Shizuka's murder.”

There was a brief silence before Aidou bursted out laughing. "Yeah, you are crazy, both of you. The whole world knows it was Kiryuu Zero over there who killed her. He shot her dead!”

"The world may say so, but _you_ know it's not true. I know you knew. You saw the truth- you witnessed what really happened to Hiou Shizuka-sama. A little bird told me they saw you there,” the vampire Aidou had called Sei countered. "Memories are like energy, remember Reizo's teachings? Who taught you the craft to manipulate them, hmm? Wasn't it my dear departed brother? What if I can pluck that scene out of your glorious brain and store it away as a valuable keepsake, or as insurance that you'll abide by our terms? Like a movie clip that can be replayed over and over again. The Kurohashi clan’s talent is not entirely a secret, the vampire society would accept the evidence without question.”

Aidou did not say anything. The silence could slice a rock in half. Satisfied, the one called Sei continued, “Undoubtedly, you're the most loyal follower within Kuran's circle. You'll do anything to protect him, wouldn’t you?"

Aidou remained silent.

Zero knew all along it was Kuran who had killed Hiou Shizuka- the pureblood confessed to it that time the arrogant bastard offered him his neck, Kuran Kaname was one who will use everything in his arsenal to get what he wants- manipulation, coercion and blackmail were not beneath him. However, the revelation that Aidou had also known the truth that transpired that night mildly shocked him. Only mildly because Zero was not surprised if the noble shadowed his revered lord’s every move. 

"Given the right tools and the right method, it's possible isn't it brat? Kuran would be incarcerated if the evidence came to light," Tomohisa said, almost gleefully, breaking the awkward stillness. "Now, shall I proceed to the next point? It's nice to see that you've taken this seriously."

Once more, Aidou kept silent, he was still panting as he was in pain, Tomohisa gave a satisfied hum. "We've been conducting a series of experiments in this venue. I'm a man of knowledge and great curiosity. I'll do whatever it takes to perfect my craft and as you can see, the filth beneath your feet are the outcomes of my endeavours.”

"I get it. I'm _swimming_ deep in dead vampire muck, you did it, how glorious, so what?" Aidou's agitation was evident. 

Tomohisa, although primarily a hunter, was a man of science. He began explaining his unfinished but promising research, a game-changer, he called it; he had been developing and testing a type of suppressant for level-D and level-E vampires. A formulation that will enable nobles or even hunters with strong vampiric genes to manipulate those weaker, unstable vampires as slaves- similar to how purebloods are able to turn others into their thralls. With it, Tomohisa believed the nobles and hunters would gain a power advantage over the purebloods, freeing them as well as their militia from the purebloods’ reign because whoever had taken the miracle drug would be immune. Plus, the drug Tomohisa created maximises a vampire’s capabilities with rapid regeneration, enhanced sensed and amplified physical power. 

"Oh, goody. We love drugs. Whatever. Fine. But why exactly are you telling me all of this?" asked Aidou, managing to sound bored. “At the rate you are going and the way you’re mistreating this lil’ ol’ me, aren’t you going to kill me?”

"No, no, what made you think so? The rough treatment was necessary since you are quite a feisty one. However, I am convinced that we could work together, Aidou-san. It takes someone with our type of memory altering capabilities to refine my research to fine tune our method of control over the lower leveled vampires. Together with the drugs, we could even create an indestructible militia. You could command an army to fight for Kuran Kaname," it was the noble vampire, Kurohashi who interjected.

Moments of silence passed until Aidou spoke again. "Hypothetically speaking- if Kuran-sama does win this whatever war you're waging. What is it to you?" Aidou's voice was deceptively calm, but Zero could feel the blonde’s disgust roiling underneath. 

"I'm a simple man. Fame, wealth and recognition by your king should be enough and a world without having to be turned into cannon fodder or die in the crossfire between the purebloods’ power struggle. If there were no level-Es to hunt, it would put an end to the Hunter Association's influence and power,” explained Tomohisa. 

"You could have just come out with a proposal and set a date for a formal meeting if you seriously think I would buy all that crap. You're a hunter, bastard. To think I would believe that you would want to see the end to the association is downright absurd. Hunters are like soulless zombies when it comes to abiding orders. You're just setting me up for something else while nabbing that insolent Kiryuu too, aren’t you? You're thinking of screwing him around again aren't you? Hire a real pharmaceutical lab and sell your drugs with a packaged brainwashing CD, for fucks sake! " Aidou ranted with an injection of smartass. Zero was impressed.

"Trying to test my patience, brat? Believe what you want to believe because in the end, you'll do exactly as I say," Tomohisa must be gritting his teeth. As far as Zero remembered, Tomohisa, his old teacher, doesn’t tolerate disobedience. 

"Whatever, old man, spit out the last one already. You’re wasting my time. You wouldn’t want the precious hunter prodigy over there to die, right? I gorged on him pretty good. I bet you’d wanna test your shit him too.”

"It's true that I want your cooperation regarding the drugs. However, you have to prove yourself reliable," by the sound of his voice, Zero could tell that Tomohisa had managed to calm himself down. It was rare, unless he had more in store. "Give him the bag Tatsuya,"

Something heavy was thrown onto the wet floor because it landed with a disgusting slosh. Zero pictured, Aidou wrinkling his nose in revulsion.

"The test is fairly straightforward. The two of you should get to the location marked on the map inside that bag within 24 hours by all means possible. Tatsuya had kindly prepared some basic necessities in there although I had strongly objected. We'll be watching and don't ever think of cheating. One wrong move and we'll be watching Kuran's fall from grace.”

"You know I could never control Kiryuu and he doesn't care about Kuran-sama. You're asking for the impossible," groused Aidou.

"Perhaps you are not so close to him after all. The drug is inside that bag. If he doesn't listen, make him," there was a faint sense of glee in Tomohisa's tone. "Now, Tatsuya, he's all yours."

There was a scuffle, a groan of protest and then silence. Tomohisa must have subdued Aidou and the one named Tatsuya was doing whatever he had to do to Aidou. Zero had never felt so helpless and the bloodlust was trapping him in a red haze. He had wanted to move, but he couldn't.

"You've heard everything, right, my pet?" The voice was so close and he immediately froze, his vision captured by the amber of Tomohisa’s eyes- it burned. Tomohisa materialized above him like an apparition, his longish silver bangs hung loosely around the slightly aged face as he bent over him. Then Tomohisa reached down to jerk his head backwards by a lock of his hair, Zero hissed. 

It had been years since Zero last saw the man. Those long, cruel fingers were tracing the outlines of his lips. "You've been breathing right for awhile now, so I assume I wouldn’t have to repeat the details of your coming task, hmm?" The fingers brushed over his eyes and it sickened him. "Get your damn hands off me," Zero bristled.

The older hunter smiled innocently as he reached lower for his shackled hands, bringing the raw knuckles to those smirking lips. Zero snatched them away, gathering his energy to make a hasty scramble to the nearest wall. His back hit the cold metal, the long chain attached to the shackles stretched taut and jangled, signalling that he could go no further. But the man had an effect on him, the suppressed memories of pain and torture bubbled, threatening to encroach his the steel-enforced barriers he fortified in his mind. He just had to get away.

Tomohisa let out a pleased hum. 

Zero shrank back- a habitual reaction. Zero mumbled curses under his breath, even the smallest muscle movements were wearing him out and the red searing pain bubbled in his core. Blood! The monster within screamed. The little boy in him was crying, begging him to get away. 

The silver haired hunter stalked and crouched down in front of him. Those slim fingers reached out again, curling themselves into his blood caked hair, bringing their faces closer together.

"Apart from your sinful eyes, I worship everything about you," Tomohisa kissed his eyelids in mock adoration and those sinewy fingers moved downwards, tracing the outlines of his cheekbones, brushing his jaw line as if he was trying to memorize his face. "It never ceased to enthral me, Zero. Your beauty, your face, how you resemble me in so many ways. Yet, you cringe, you cower, you try to flee away from me."

Zero knew exactly what would happen next. It was always the same. It always starts with those chaste gestures and ends with torment. Stop! Get away from me! He wanted to shout but the words were stuck in his throat. He was panting in between pain and bloodlust. Zero thought he had heard Aidou shouting something. 

"You're trembling," A warm palm was pressed over his heart. "Why do you fear me?" Tomohisa asked, tilting his head in mock concern. "After all I've done to save you, you still shrink away from my touch. Can’t you feel love from the things I do for you, from the things I gave you- like this special mark..." The amber eyes darkened as the man paused, the hand moved from his chest clamp painfully over Zero’s burning tattoo. “Why are you so afraid of me when all I did was protect you?” 

"I'm not afraid of you," he could feel his fangs lengthening as he spoke, his voice horse and raw. Yes, show him anger, not fear.

"Yes, you are, it breaks my heart to watch what you have become, my boy. You should have chosen to come to me, your only kin left after _that_ tragedy and maybe I could have saved you earlier. But you chose that two-faced, wimpy pacifist, Cross!” Tomohisa touched his finger to the tip of the fang, drawing blood and smeared it onto Zero's bottom lip. "Oops, my bad.." he smirked.

Shit! The metallic scent triggered his feral instincts- the desire for blood boiled like molten magma. Stop! He fought it hard and smashed his head against the wall, earning an amused chuckle from the hunter.

Caught off guard, those strong hands gripped his head again. Tomohisa seized the moment to crush their lips together and sucked on his reddened lips. The shock was enough to stop the trashing need. Zero tried to bash his skull against Tomohisa but the amber eyed hunter was faster- he evaded and stepped away laughing quietly.

"Electrifying as always dear Zero- like kissing a poisonous viper," Tomohisa mocked while licking his vile lips. "Beautiful, mystifying, yet deadly."

Zero glared at the man with all the hate he could muster but Tomohisa laughed harder, "My tiny drop of blood has done nothing to stop your cravings at all, hmm? My bad."

Zero heard Aidou whimper followed by a series of low groans. 

"Hey, enough. You’ ll break him. Come, I'm done here, Atsushi. Let's go," the noble vampire appeared from behind and placed a firm grip on Tomohisa's shoulder. There was something Zero could not understand flaring in the vampire’s brilliant green eyes as the grip tightened. Tomohisa reluctantly held out his hand and accepted a strange opaque, glass sphere from the brown haired noble.

"Remember, Zero. 24 hours. Be there because I'll be waiting."

0000000000

"What do you want, little princess?" the red headed hunter picked the toppled wooden chair up and straddled it, fearless, ill-mannered and downright arrogant. But his mannerism did not frazzle Yuuki a bit. She lived with a character like this one before.

Yuuki set the swaddled wooden board onto the desk and whipped out her phone, reading something on the screen. "So, he did send you," she sighed in defeat as she tucked the device back into her small bag. She smiled at Takamiya, "Sorry about that but I really was expecting my father in person."

Takamiya's stance did not change, "He can't be here. Not in the middle of this mess,” he explained halfheartedly. The redhead may be a teacher at the academy but make no mistake, he hates every single vampire that walked the earth and wore his hatred like a badge.

Nevertheless, Yuuki chose to ignore it, "How close are the hunters to finding Zero?"

The green eyes hardened after hearing her question, "I can't tell you."

"I presume that means nothing much had been done, correct?" she tested- it was not a wise thing to say in the presence of the prideful hunter but he had to speed things up.

"As I said earlier, vampire, I can't tell you," he stood up and brushed his coat. "Whatever, if there’s nothing more, I'm leaving," he added. Yuuki sighed. 

"I have a way to find him," Yuuki said, stopping him in his tracks, "But, I need your help." Kaname still stood silently at her her side, observing.

Takamiya studied the both of them with a suspicious eye, "You have my attention. Go on."

"Zero's tattoo- he's a tamed vampire, isn't he?” she started, her speech careful- not sure of Takamiya’s reaction. “I found out that the tamer could use some methods to track one down in case he goes missing. Do those methods really exist?"

The hunter folded his arms. "Let's say the things you said are true- what do you, a pureblood want with him? Although you are the one who tamed Kiryuu Zero, the ex-human hunter wonder-boy, what will you do to him afterwards? Or perhaps by finding that dumbass, it will lead you to find that Aidou heir like the rest of them?" The redhead punctuated with a raised eyebrow, his lips stretched thin into a grim line. He clearly hated vampires and he may be more stubborn than Zero.

"He is my brother," Yuuki's declaration surprised all of them. "I believe our bond transcends race and blood. I am worried about him so do not speak of motives and prejudice against me ever again." Her voice was hard even though her eyes were glazing as she turned to look at the two of them. "I want him safe and finding Aidou is equally important because he's my friend."

Takamiya ran his hand in his fiery locks and sighed. "You're really something,” he mumbled. Yuuki smiled over her small win. "Help me find them both,” she said. 

0000000000

They were gone, their presence, their voices vanished as they left them there. Zero slumped back onto the floor, curling into a foetal position, breathing raggedly, unable to suppress the searing, acidic pain that burned through his veins. Blood, blood and blood! It screamed louder. The darkness was spreading. It was bad. It always had been bad. But ever since that last time he had Kuran's blood, after that regrettable episode with Ichiru, it was not like it used to be. Before, the dark beast within was uncontainable. In a way or another, after ingesting the pure blood, the beast was easier to reign in, he was stabilized but he still hated it. Being caught, stuck in that volatile threshold between a Level-D and Level-E was exasperating. It may be easier if he would just lose his mind and some hunter would finish him off- like Kaito, for example. Now, it was pain, pain, pain and more insufferable paralysing pain. Aidou was supposed to drain him dry. His body was supposed to break down and crumble to dust. He was supposed to sink into the abyss and be reunited with his dipshit of a brother. They were supposed to fight each other till eternity.

He wanted to die. 

The sound of a chain dragging on the wet floor and the slow sloshing footsteps told him that Aidou was advancing nearer. Zero remembered the chains in Tomohisa’s little dungeon- his heart seized. Phantom physical hurts from the past were overlapping with the present. 

The chains slid on the floor in a series of clinks and Aidou's faint warmth seemed to scorch the bare skin of his exposed back. Trembling hands nudged his shoulder tentatively. “Hey, you okay, Kiryuu?" Aidou’s voice was uncharacteristically gentle but the touches felt like razors. 

It hurts! Don't you dare lay a hand on me.

He must have said it aloud because Aidou flinched. "I'm sorry. I’m sorry I had to see all that," Aidou retracted his hand and moved away. Zero did not respond and couldn't tell what the blond was up to but the blonde’s sudden compassion and careful actions were plain weird. That damn, vampire Sei must have done something to his royal blonde-ness supercilious brain.

Faint scent of fresh blood suddenly assaulted his nose. Zero turned over just in time to see Aidou digging his fingernails into the unconscious Takahashi's skin, right above the jugular. A small amount of blood trickled from the crescent shaped cuts.

"What the hell are you doing?” Zero managed to croak out. Those blue eyes turned to him.

"I'm trying to make myself better. Don't worry, I'll leave some for you," the blond explained.

Propping himself up on an elbow he barked at Aidou, "Stop unless you want to get zapped like a fly once you have your fangs out. You have to get those shackles off you first, you fool!"

Aidou let Takahashi crash back down like a sack of potatoes and made his way towards Zero, "Thanks for the warning. I thought you were going to lecture me on my unethical choice of nourishment."

"I did try to feed him to you earlier, remember? I won't stop you unless he's human," he hissed in pain as Aidou pulled him to sit up. "Watch it, princess! You'll rip my hands off!"

Much to his consternation, the blonde batted his eyes and pouted while holding out his manacled hands. "Get me out of these, please," he pleaded, clearly a mockery but Zero stared dumbly at him for a second anyways.

"I don't trust you enough, senpai. What you’re you going to do afterwards? Help the bad guys build an army to take over the world? Let's just stay here to rot to death."

"Here we go again," Aidou sighed, kneeled down beside him, "Look here, Kiryuu. I mean look at me."

Rolling his eyes, Zero stared into those blue eyes. He had never seen them up close before and it rattled him, "I'm looking and I feel stupid," he quipped, hoping to mask his uneasyness. 

"Listen to me, Kiryuu and think objectively- we're in this together now. I know you have some history with Tomohisa Atsushi and I want to bust the kneecaps off that Sei, no.. Kurohashi Tatsuya because they took something from me. You know what it is, right?" Aidou spoke carefully as he was afraid something would break. What are so cautious about, blondie? Zero was offended because Aidou was speaking to him like he was a toddler but he nodded anyways.

"You do trust me to a certain extent or else you wouldn't have let me.. umm.. you know," he was blushing slightly. Crap, Aidou was bringing _that_ up? All he did was let Aidou have his blood to recover but Zero was equally embarrassed. "We can do this working together… thing. I'll deal with Takahashi coz you rather drop dead than soiling yourself with these kinds of stuff but I need you to come with me to complete this 24 hours tomfoolery those fucktards laid on us and get things straightened."

"Why?" he asked the blonde vampire without letting his gaze waver.

"Because if that fragment of my memory does leak out, we would be at war. You know it's real and they have it," he said. Aidou was almost uncharacteristically pleading. Zero took a deep breath and motioned for Aidou to go on. "The vampires would judge and rise against Kuran-sama, upsetting the precarious balance that we have now. Worse, the hunters and humans would inevitably be dragged into it as well," Aidou paused to lick his chapped lips as if he was weighing his decision to continue. "Didn't your former teacher mention an army of Es? Where does Es come from, Kiriyu? Who would he sacrifice? Which pureblood is backing him, supplying the newly turned vampires? There’s something bigger going on. Should I say more?" The look he had on his face was solemn. Aidou could either be a really great actor or he was not as shallow as Zero had perceived him to be. As much as he hated to admit, Aidou was right.

"I don't like what you're about to do to your dog there but make sure you leave him alive. Cross or Kain would likely be right on our trail. They will need someone to interrogate- do you understand, _princess_?”

He understood what Aidou is about to do to Takahasi but it didn’t mean it would sit right with him. Wordlessly, Zero undid Aidou’s restraint, sending it clanging against the dirty, hard surface. 

Aidou studied his raw wrists for a few seconds before looking back up at him wearing an amused grin. “Crystal. As you wish, _my dear._ ”

Rolling his eyes, Zero groaned. Dear? He would’ve bashed his head against Aidou’s if he had the energy to spare. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bad Tomohisa, bad!


	9. Chapter 9

Predatory.

That was the only word that popped in his head when Aidou sank his fangs into Takahashi's neck. He kept reminding himself it was no different from watching a lion mauling a gazelle in one of those documentaries- an act of nature, a necessity to survive. All of them need to survive. Aidou has to do it to survive. He's not human and there is nothing wrong with a Level-B cannibalising a Level-C because it is all in their vampiric nature. That useless lump was Aidou’s lackey, a creature of lower hierarchy. He should not have cared. 

Even though the blonde did not make a sound or spilt even a drop, it was still eerie to witness. He had never watched another vampire feed without having to pull out his gun and shoot the living hell out of the perpetrator before and worst of all, Zero realised, the tantalizing scent of blood was making the dark beast in him roar and rage. 

However, the real reason he was uneasy was the fact Aidou’s red eyes were trained on him from the start- they never left him. Like a wary beast anxious that someone might snatch away his prey. Look away, Zero. Take your eyes off him and look elsewhere. But he couldn't. That blood should have been ours! The beast in him trashed. Zero suppressed it further down. He wouldn’t lose to it. He’d rather shatter, turned to dust than relinquish control to his inner monster. 

Stretching like a feline, Aidou hummed in satisfaction after dumping the limp ex-bodyguard’s body onto the floor. He looked too pale, dead, Zero frowned in disapproval. "Yeah, I know, I know Kiryuu. Do not say a word," Aidou warned while wiping his slightly stained mouth with the back of his right hand. He then kicked the unmoving Takahashi in the gut while chuckling dryly. "I'll get back to you after I deal with Kurohashi, you snivelling traitor.”

Aidou walked over and picked up the black canvas bag left by Kurohashi earlier. He unzipped it roughly and rummaged through the contents with a deep frown etched on his soiled forehead . The bruises on his skin were slowly fading from blue-black to red and greenish yellow- he was healing. After a few impatient shakes of his head and a very frustrated growl, Aidou pulled out a yellowish crumpled wad of paper and carefully smoothed it out against the wall. 

“What is that?” Zero found himself asking, his voice quieter than he expected. His body was growing weaker- he fought to stop the shaking but failed. The cold darkness within continued to wrap its tendrils around his heart. 

“This? Why is it the blasted map to wherever they want us to go,” says Aidou. Zero grunted. He was not going. 

"Come now, we have to get moving," the blond said, peering at Zero. Zero knew he looked like crap. Barefoot, shirtless, injured and hanging precariously on the edge of sanity. If he was in Aidou's shoes, he would never take the risk of travelling with an unstable Level-D. Scoffing internally, he was about to come out with a stinging retort but the noble had moved so rapidly, materializing in front of him with a hand extended. The dirty black canvas haversack hung loosely from his shoulders. "Can you get up or should I carry you?" Aidou asked, his tone serious, devoid of his usual flamboyance. The noble’s face was uncharacteristically grim with his lips firmly pressed together into a thin line- showing concern. Was this is his real character hidden under that whole flamboyant idol personality he paraded in? Zero wondered. Yes, he had always been loud, annoying and a megalomaniac. Zero scowled at the proffered hand.

"Hey, say something. You’re not going to stare at me all day long, are you?" the hand moved closer and patted him on the left cheek as if urging Zero to focus. On reflex, the silver haired hunter flinched away from the contact. Aidou’s fingers were warm but those icy blue eyes grew colder- taken aback. It was good to know that he was not the only one who detested the contact, Aidou must be testing him.

Zero let out a disdainful snort. Forming sentences, trying to talk seemed to be energy wasting efforts at the moment- he had little to no energy left so he simply raised his hunter warded, iron shackled hands and gave the long chain attached to the eyelet on the cement floor a hard tug so that the vampire got the message- there was no way Aidou could get the contraption off. He managed to deactivate Aidou’s set of shackles because he could place both his hands on it but how was he going to maneuver around his own? They were not going to come off.

With a heavy sigh and much to Zero's amazement, the blonde made his way towards the eyelet and pulled the whole thing out of the floor just like he was pulling out a reedy weed from the soil. Chunks of hard cement were stuck at the end of the metal that it looked like a medieval flail. "Although I can't get that thing off you, it doesn't mean that I can't free you. Well, sort of free you," Aidou boasted while twirling and tugging the end of the chain simultaneously, chuckling in glee in successfully jerking the irate vampire hunter forward. "Having you on a leash could be fun after all," he chuckled.

The anti-vampire metal was slowly burning Aidou’s kin but the vampire didn't seem to care. Being annoying was still the royal princess's topmost priority, thought Zero. If he had the energy, he would have so lovingly strangled him with that chain. Playing around when he thinks he's running short on time? What the heck? Two can play this game.

"I'm not going anywhere," Zero said, staring defiantly at the infuriating blond. Aidou let out a frustrated huff and tugged the chain so hard, it sent Zero crashing down sideways onto the grimy floor. 

"Beg your pardon? I thought we had gone over this," Aidou shouted and yanked him back up by the hair. The grip hurt but he glared spitefully into the icy blue counterparts.

"Yes, but did you hear I say yes?" Zero shrugged Aidou off with his shackled limbs, scooted back lazily to rest his torso against the cold metal wall. His deliberately aloof tone set the blond's temper off.

In a flash, Aidou pounced on him, held his restraints just above his head and fisted his blood crusted silver hair, forcing Zero to tilt his face to one side, he felt Aidou’s breath on his skin- too close. In his rage, Aidou's fangs had elongated and Zero could feel the fingers gripping him changing, lengthening into claws as it dug painfully into the back of his head. Zero's inner beast screamed for him to get away from the potential danger but Aidou overpowered him. He trashed.

Sensing Zero’s struggle, the blonde tightened his hold and pinned the shackles firmer against the floor. Their skin hissed against the charmed device. Both of them were vampires, it harmed them both ways but Aidou did not care. The stinking filthy slippery floor made him cringe in revulsion. Disgusting, dead vampire sludge was saturating into his bare back. Marinating in the cold, liquefied ashes of perished low levelled bloodsuckers was currently repulsing enough, having another bloodsucking creature ranked higher in the blood leeching hierarchy breathing in his face disgusted him even more. His uncontrollable body tremors were getting worse.

"Scared of me, Kiryuu?" the blonde asked, a sinister smile deforming the usually handsome face. Somebody had gotten the wrong message. 

"Of you? Not in a million years, princess." Zeros sneered. He hated the other vampire who was hovering dangerously over him; the evil glint in those blue eyes, the sneering face, and the vulnerability he felt when the smaller, frail looking body was able to immobilize him so easily. Although he tried his best to mask his uneasiness with the thing he knows best- antagonism, Forced as it was, Aidou could read him like an open book.

Aidou let out an amused snicker. "Of course not. You’re definitely not afraid of me but, how about a certain dangerously charming silver-headed hunter?" The pearly white teeth flashed in a wicked grin, "I didn't mean you of course, the other one, because you're just dangerously vitriolic."

Zero hissed angrily. 

"I don't really get you, Kiryuu," Aidou lowered his face closer till their noses were barely touching. His waning strength enabled the blonde to yank him around and knowing he couldn’t do anything about it grated on his nerves. Zero hissed again when Aidou dug his claws deeper to stop his struggle, "One moment you're arrogantly cynical, impetuous, and stubborn..." Aidou crooned. Zero tugged his hands downwards but Aidou slammed them back higher up and continued his ramblings. "Then suddenly, you endanger yourself by acting so gratifyingly generous in saving my hide with your lusciously venomous blood. That puzzles me. Are you really that kind? You could've let me die. Though I'm relieved you did not. But then he came along. To-mo-hi-sa~”

Zero’s breath hitched. 

Aidou narrowed his eyes in reaction, voice dropping into an acidic whisper. "You shrunk back like a spineless worm when he sucked your face," Aidou used his fingers to mimic Tomohisa's touch earlier before continuing on. "How can you refuse to get out there and hunt that damn piece of shit down? I know you've always had the will to overcome your cursed impairments. And knowing you, the one who have had the nerves to defy Kaname-sama, was afraid of an old human hunter, I was truly disappointed. Who is he? Oh, I‘ve picked up clues but it is better to hear from you. What, did he used to screw you so bad until you broke?"

Aidou's words sliced through Zero like a jagged piece of glass. Room and ribbons of buried emotions tightened and constricted around his heart. He was floundering in suppressed memories, spurting and oozing through the thick barrier he had built in his mind. Fuck you, Aidou! His world shook as it was rapidly curtained by wrath. Gradually, Aidou's razor-sharp punishing clasp was not as agonizing as it initially was anymore. The blonde was moving his lips again, muttering more and more lines of rancour. Shut up, shut up, shut the hell up! Zero thought he screamed. Maybe he did not. Aidou was not stopping.

I'll teach you to shut up! He screamed in his mind. In response, Zero wrenched his hands away from Aidou’s hold and before the infuriating blond could react, he hooked his arms around the other vampire's head and yanked it back down roughly. Aidou's eyes flared in shock when he mashed their lips together forcefully, efficiently silencing him. See what it feels like to be violated! The noble immediately squirmed and growled angrily. Zero bit down on Aidou’s lower lip eliciting an angry yelp.

  
  


The struggle escalated when Aidou tried to break away by bracing his arms to push up against the floor but Zero grappled the slender vampire with his legs, entrapping him. I'll make you regret, Aidou! The slippery wet floor rendered Aidou's clumsy trashing futile. When the blonde opened his mouth to scream, and once again Zero seized the moment to deepen the contact, not caring that their teeth clashed violently and that Aidou's fangs grazed his tongue in that frantic moment.

The taste of his blood must have stunned the noble. Take that, hope it'll poison you! For a second, Aidou stiffened but immediately Zero could tell his something changed when Aidou's tongue moved against his own. Oh no, you don't! He immediately pulled out just before Aidou decided to clamp down for more. He was surprised when Aidou let a sound that suspiciously resembled a frustrated whimper. Ignoring it, Zero viciously sunk his blunt teeth into the Aidou's lower lip once more, sucking on the wound until he drew the blonde’s blood.

He tasted it, his own signature infused in Aidou's when the crimson liquid leaked into his mouth and washed against his tongue. Then he belatedly remembered the restraints around his wrist. Shit!

Immediately, the anti-vampire properties of the device were activated. A scorching, white hot blaze shot through his heart, borderline paralysing. He spat whatever that was left out. Aidou took the opportunity to break away from him.

As soon as his vision cleared, he saw the blonde crouching down a few feet away, breathing hard and glaring murder at him. Trickles of red dribble down his chin as the wounded lip closes up. Zero laughed bitterly as he stared back at the vampire and he managed to rasp out in a barely audible voice, "Hope you get the gist, senpai- how it felt being forced onto. It felt amazing didn't it?"

Aidou gritted his teeth and hissed, "You kissed me! Hell, you're fucking sick!"

Yeah, you earned it for reminding me of that Tomohisa. The anti-vampire charm did more damage than he had anticipated because from the feel of it, his insides seemed to have turned into goo. Coupled with his bloodlust, it hurt a million fold. Even the mucky floor appeared to be colder than ice. You messed up, Zero. He didn't bother to look at the blond anymore, "Corrections, princess. I molested you and I'm fucking dying."

He saw the brief panic flashing in Aidou's face. "Get the fuck out and get your precious memories by yourself. After leeching on me and that filthy guard should be enough so go on and play with that certain dangerously charming silver-headed hunter. Fail, and see if I care when they finally pitch Kuran into the pyre,” Zero said. What Aidou? Wipe that stupid look off your face, he thought.

Aidou was about to speak when a loud boom resonated throughout the building. Something had crashed on the roof above. It felt dangerous and it was approaching fast. Judging by the look on Aidou’s face, he had also felt the same. The blonde was concentrating. A Level-B's senses were far more acute than a hunter turned vampire. Several booms reverberated against the walls seconds later and both of them could feel the foul presence that comes with it. He knew that feeling anywhere. Level-Es. A number of them.

Aidou swiftly dragged him up. Zero wobbled onto his feet and Aidou wordlessly slung the left arm around his shoulder. There were unorganized footsteps on the brittle zinc roof. Moving like a pack of hyenas sniffing out cadaver. They were searching them out. He stopped the blond and tried to pry him off, "Leave me here and escape, senpai. It's not worth it."

To his surprise, the blue-eyed blonde whacked hard him upside the back of his head. "Should I punch you? After I got skewered to save you once? Yuuki-sama would castrate me if I leave you here. I don't care if you don't feel like it but pick another vampire to die on, please. Shut up and move!" Aidou growled in frustration when he refused to budge. "Move, Kiryuu!"

  
  


0000000000

"What exactly are we doing here, Takamiya-san?" Yuuki finally broke the awkward silence since their two hour long journey to the peculiar residence. He did not answer her and signalled for her to be quiet. Although he appeared to know exactly where he was heading to, she was sure it was somebody else's home because they had walked past some ancient portraits of unknown men, women and even children. Their dark eyes and identical black hair contrasted with their pale skin. None of them bear resemblance to the redheaded hunter.

Earlier, Takamiya Kaito had spent a few minutes fiddling with the main door before giving them the all clear to exit their car. The building has a foreboding feeling to it, like the Hunter Association Headquarters. Perhaps, the hilltop home belonged to one of the hunters. Worse, perhaps they were trespassing. But Kaname did not show any objection so she obligingly went along with the hunter. Finding Zero and Aidou was their top priority. Maybe only her alone. Takamiya only wants to utilize whatever ways to find Zero while Kaname’s main concern was to keep her out of trouble. 

  
  


They were still walking along the musty dark passage leading deeper into the building. It was an old fashioned Japanese style house with tatami floors and exotically painted fusuma panels. Kaname too had been quiet, walking soundlessly behind them. Then Takamiya stopped in front of a room and contemplated. He turned towards them and spoke, "Neither of you are permitted to follow me inside unless you can promise to not touch anything once we’re in that room."

Yuuki nodded for her and Kaname’s behalf.

Kaito looked sceptical but he proceeded to slide the old creaky fusuma open to reveal a dusty room lined with shelves and shelves of books. Yuuki followed him inside but Kaname did not move from his spot by the entrance. Takamiya shrugged his shoulders and beckoned for Yuuki to follow him to the furthest shelf at the back of the dark room.

"We're looking for a thick, red leather covered book with a bronze emblem on the spine. Make sure you don't touch anything else unless you want to get accidentally zapped, scalded or burned by hunter warding charms,” the redhead warned.

"Charms?" Yuuki asked while eying the rows and rows of crammed books. The shelves looked like they could crumble under the weight at any moment. She was not too fond of libraries, especially after those long gruelling months stuck in the enormous room stuffed with books back in the Kuran mansion with the hyperactive Aidou.

"Yes, charms. Hunters typically ward their belongings, you know us, the paranoid bunch. Nasty stuff, I tell you. The bad news is, this place, it is rigged by the very best. He wouldn't be too pleased if he learns I had brought _friends_ into his house to _borrow_ his book,” Kaito explained. So she was right, they were intruding. Kaname must have known but surprisingly he indirectly agreed to it by coming along. 

"So, this is not your house? But how come you know your way around?" she asked the obvious and he sighed.

"No, this is not my house but I used to come here a lot since the owner is one of my teachers. He’s strict- he lets me come up here sometimes but not without his permission,” said Kaito dryly, as he searched. A few seconds later, he let out a frustrated sigh. “And I might get punished over nothing because the book is not here," he pointed to a large gap in between the top shelf. "Oh well, I'll just have to make sure he doesn't notice our visit then.”

"Punished? But you are allowed here. Why would you be punished?” Yuuki asked the hunter.

"I sneaked vampires in. Oh, he will punish me alright. Don’t worry your pretty head though," he replied offhandedly as she followed him back out to meet an impatient looking Kaname. 

Takamiya dusted his long green coat in frustration and stared blankly at the two of them, "There's one more place to look but I don't think following me in there would be such a good idea.”

At last, Kaname spoke up. "We don't have much time in our hands, Takamiya-san. Three pair of eyes is better than one."

"All right, suit yourselves. Follow me," Kaito led them back into the room and lifted up a section of the tatami. There was a wooden trapdoor underneath it. Takamiya knelt down beside it and pressed his palms against it. Something glowed from beneath and he stood back up with a satisfied smirk, "Okay,the ward had been deactivated. That's the real study slash workplace down there. Can you lift that thing up if you don't mind? It's sort of too heavy for a human," he said, looking at Kaname while pointing at the trapdoor.

"I thought the owner is a hunter, he couldn’t have lifted that himself if you yourself couldn’t,” she piped her curiosity. I thought the owner was a human, her mind echoed.

The redhead's lips formed an acidic smile, "That means some of the hunters are stronger than others. A typical hunter's home would be armed with anti-vampire charms to the teeth. You got in here too easily, didn't you? The owner of this place is confident with his abilities. Can't you tell? Enough gossiping, lift that door up, Kuran."

"Order me around like that again and I'll make sure you'll regret it," despite his reluctance, Kaname easily pried the trapdoor open which led to a dark underground room. "Lead the way hunter," Kaname did not really trust the redhead, Yuuki could tell.

They ascended the dimly lit metal stairs to a cold, damp and vile smelling room. Vile because it smelt like all sorts of things had died down there. The air was thick with the scent of old decay. It assaulted Yuuki’s senses like a sledgehammer. Kaname did not look too comfortable either and Takamiya enjoyed their discomfort, wearing an amused smirk. "I'm glad I didn't have your noses. The place's rancid but apparently it is a bit more to you," he chuckled but found himself being ignored by the purebloods.

After a bit of searching, Kaito found and flipped on a switch. Light flooded the room and immediately Yuuki saw the real source of the unbearable stench. Organs, bones and all sorts of unidentified chunks of biological matter lay stagnant in hundreds of murky jars. She wanted to hurl but Kaname flashed a warning look so she held her stomach in. Takamiya seemed to be unfazed by the gore. Right, he's been there before. They followed him further into the dimly lit space, the walls were tacked and various types of weapons hung from it. Hunter weapons. Some of the metal was stained with grime from their last kill. No doubt those came from slain vampires from their lists. Hunters only hunt Level-Es.

Lower level vampires or not, Yuuki could not prevent the sickening pull in her stomach. Vampires, regardless of their hierarchical distinctions, were still living creatures. Takamiya caught her distress and scoffed but he chose not to make any remarks. Kaname's mood had taken a dangerously dark turn, the pureblood was annoyed. His oppressing aura blanketed the space. 

"Cut that out Kuran or you'll accidentally cripple this fragile human me here," warned the redhead. He stopped in front of another door and flicked on the switch beside it. "Really, I don't recommend you to come inside here," he warned. 

Kaname pulled back but his irritation showed in his voice, "I recommend you to stop stalling. Open it." Even in the shadows, she could see his grimness.

She had expected to see gore or something even more disturbing like a dissected corpse hanging from the ceiling but instead, they stepped into a black tiled, sterile grey painted room. A white work desk occupied a corner, a steel table dominated the centre and it was brightly lit by a series of mirrored pendaflour lights. There was a huge iron riveted double door on the opposite side of the room and the only potentially dangerous items in there were the tray full of run of the mill surgical knives, scissors and needles beside the operating table. Ordinary stainless steel, regardless of their sharpness, is not sufficient to kill vampires.

Takamiya paid no heed to her explorations and moved swiftly to open the wooden storage cupboard standing at the side of the room while Kaname brushed past her to examine the desk. Yuuki marvelled at the clinical sterility of the space and wondered why the hunter had been hesitant to admit them in.

"You're out of luck today because usually there will be a dead hunter on that table- or two," informed the redhead. Yuuki stared at his back doubtfully and he must have sensed it so, he explained. "He autopsies them in case one perishes in the line of duty." Takamiya's voice was slightly muffled from behind the cupboard door. He was still occupied in searching for the book he wanted.

"Perish?" she accidentally squeaked. Kaname shot a cross look at her. He may look solemn as he always does but she had known him long enough to pick up the slightest hint of emotions in him. He had been skimming through the desk earlier and whatever he found there, he was not pleased. Her display of weakness must have fuelled his irritation. Right, act like a real pureblood royalty especially in front of a hunter. Sorry, Kaname. To her mortification, Takamiya Kaito laughed at her slip up.

"You should stop laughing, Takamiya-san, before I give you a reason to test that but butchering table yourself," she tried to sound haughty to redeem herself. Suddenly, she was afraid of what Kaname would do to the man. She was confident she had sounded arrogant enough for her standards but still, it doesn’t sit right.

The hunter pretended not to hear and slammed the cupboard back shut. "Not here. I wasted my time for nothing," he groused. Instantly, Kaname grew livid. Yuuki watched him send Takamiya skidding backwards on the floor without even physically touching him in slow motion. The redhead growled in rage as he raced back up forward to stop Kaname from getting to the cupboard.

Takamiya changed his course because Kaname had done something which had caused the huge wooden thing to burst into splinters. Papers and volumes of old books exploded and scattered onto the floor including the alleged red leather bound book. A carved wolf-like bronze emblem glinted on the spine. The hunter was lying! Why? Yuuki could only stare at her brother in dismay. God! Please, Kaname, don’t! He had lost his calm countenance and she found his current unexplained aggressive behaviour horrifying. Although his face had returned back to its placid composure, his murderous aura was threatening to lash out again.

Yuuki ran to Kaname without thinking twice and clutched onto his coat lapels, looking up to plead him to calm down. He immediately did but he set her aside and trusted a glossy piece of paper into Takamiya's face. She realized it was a piece of old laminated photograph. Takamiya's green eyes grew wide in horror as he slapped Kaname's hand away.

Yuuki grabbed the hand holding the item, trying her best to steal a look at the cause of Kaname's outburst but he jerked it away and tucked the photograph into his pocket. "You lied about the book and who exactly would keep something like this around?" Venom dripped from his lips.

"Perhaps someone with similar tendencies like you? You're keeping it yourself now.” Takamiya scoffed.

Yuuki was puzzled. It was her turn to slowly start drowning in frustration. The two are clearly going to exclude her. She hated it. Nevertheless, she scooped the book up into her arms. Now she has it, together with the remnants of Zero's blood, all she needed was the redhead's reluctant cooperation to initiate whatever spell that could enable her to lead her to Zero. She doesn't care why Takamiya tried to hide the book anymore, Kaname would deal with him. It's acceptable that Takamiya doesn't trust purebloods, she reasoned. She will get what she came for. However, the growing tension between Kaname and Takamiya could jeopardize her objectives.

"My alleged tendencies are none of your business. Answer or I'll make her previous threat into reality and make sure you enjoy your final rest on that metal surface to the fullest." Kaname hissed through gnashed teeth. She was aware of his dislike towards hunters but to her, he was clearly overreacting.

In turn, Takamiya slid his fingers in his tousled red hair like a lazy feline, got up and glared boldly at Kaname, "Hear that, Kuran Yuuki-san? Know that if you put a black ink near you, you'll be black but if you put a bad person near you, you'll be bad. Why'd you choose this twisted character over Zero? I pity you."

Kaname grabbed Takamiya by the collar and lifted him off his feet. The hunter let out a choked protest as he tried to kick his way free. Yuuki could not stifle her gasp and uselessly tried to pull the unmoving arm back down. It was getting out of control.

Without thinking, she reached down for Artemis, and drove one end into Kaname's abdomen just enough to make him release the squirming hunter onto the floor. "Stop it both of you!"

"What's going on with you, Kaname!" she screamed at him. He wore a shocked expression, clutching his assaulted midsection. The blow was not sufficient to harm him but she was sure he was chagrined by her actions. "We need him to get to them!" she raised her voice again, expecting a retort or reprimand from him, but he kept staring at her in disbelief. So, she turned her attention to the other source of her rage.

Takamiya was rubbing his neck, chuckling at the odd events while crouching on his heels like an impudent brat until she marched at him and yanked him half up to her eye level. It was the green eyed hunter's turn to stare at her uneasily. "I do not need you to speak in riddles and waste precious time, Takamiya Kaito-san. Although, I would love to pummel you in my brother's place for lying about this book in my face even if it'll start a war. It's time to get on and find a way to trace Zero. Can or can't you?" she glared at him fiercely prior to releasing him.

The hunter stared at her wide eyed. Kaname had a hand covering half of his face. That was the pose he always had if he was contemplating or anticipating something and Yuuki thought she knew, "Whose house is this, Takamiya-san?"

Before, the hunter could answer, she heard one of the double doors swing open and someone stepped in. "That would be me," a low, breathy male voice echoed in the room. Takamiya paled and searched to look elsewhere. Kaname rested his left hand on the desk and faced the newcomer with an uncharacteristic sternness.

She could positively confirm the man as an experienced hunter from his lack of presence. A hunter could always blend into his surroundings. How long has he been behind that door listening? She could not see his face under the heavy olive green hooded coat he wore. A hunter coat. Zero had worn one on some occasions. The man was covered by the smell of mud, rain and whiffs of vampire blood. Has he just returned from a hunt? It must be the case.. His voice was calm and had a soothing quality to it, "So you have gone over your distaste for vampires, Kaito-kun? You've even brought purebloods over, I'm impressed."

"Nothing changed, sensei. I still hate them but something happened to _that_ boy and I have to bring them along to try out the tracing spell in that book." Takamiya replied in suppressed irritation and pointed at the large book clutched at Yuuki’s side.

"What happened to Zero? Have you lost him, Kaito-kun?" the older hunter asked and closed the door carefully. Aren't you mad at Takamiya for admitting us in? Yuuki watched him hang a katana on a wooden peg by the door. The weapon gave off the disturbingly strong smell of blood. She still could not see his face underneath the hood but she could tell that he was about as tall as Kaname. Speaking of Kaname, he had not moved an inch from his current spot. It was as if he was assessing the mysterious hunter.

"He disappeared," the redhead replied curtly. The Takamiya Kaito chose not to disclose about the vampires' accusation of Zero kidnapping Aidou? She found that even stranger. Didn't the hunters circulate the news of Zero's disappearance?

The hooded man paused and then turned at them, "Really?" He stepped forward and placed his gloved right fingers under his chin, weighing the news. He did not react to the presence of not one, but two pure-blooded vampires like typical hunters. She had expected some type of degrading remarks or something along that line from him especially when they had been caught trespassing in his home. That alone can be manipulated and politicised to the Hunter Association's advantage.

"This is Kuran Yuuki. It's complicated but she's the one who had tamed him and as notorious as he is that other one there needs no introduction." Takamiya could seriously hold a grudge. "I'm sorry for barging in like this but it was that jerk that blew your cupboard," the redhead accused. It was mostly Kaname's fault in the first place. She looked over to Kaname hoping he would not do anything rash again. Thankfully, he had regained his impeccable sensibility and chose to let Takamiya run the show. It was no longer their game anymore.

"It's just a cupboard and I'm sure your temper had to do something with that too." There was a light amusement in the man's tone. "It is an honour to meet you Kuran Kaname-san," he said while pulling his hood down. "I just came back from an assignment, so forgive me for forgetting my manners."

Yuuki had expected the man to resemble the portraits she had seen earlier but instead of dark hair and eyes, she was startled by the intense brownish yellow eyes boring into hers. They were almost golden, like ambers, obscured by long lashes. She had the impression that he was rather old by the wet whitish grey hair tied at the base of his neck. She could be wrong but his sharp, pale face appeared forty-ish. The thing that astonished her the most was how much he resembled the currently missing vampire hunter. If Zero could learn how to smile, he would have looked even more exotically striking than his older doppelganger standing before them. Unlike her, Kaname coolly stared at the newly arrived hunter.

"I'm Tomohisa Atsushi, Zero and Kaito's former mentor and instructor," his smile was supposed to be kind, but Yuuki thought it made him look sinister. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> April 8th,2020  
> Dun, dun, dun~ Still with me, luv?
> 
> Zero kissed Aidou? No, he tried to maul Aidou’s face. So un-romantic. I’m a Kaname/Zero shipper. I intend to make Kaname realise his undying love for Zero, that stiff prude. *cackles* I wrote Tomohisa that way because VK villains were usually too preoccupied at being all pretty and moody. We need a real scum! I feel bad making Zero a victim tho. 
> 
> You know what? This controlled movement-stay at home-work from home-do not step up unless it’s to get food thingy currently being enforced in my county is great for fic editing but not great for my sanity. I tried to talk to my cat but he stared back at me like you know.. telling me to stop being stupid. 
> 
> Although I’d love to hear from you, it’s not compulsory. It’s fine if you want to flame me too coz it’s constructive criticism. In have marshmallows ready. ^^ There was this one reader once, back in ffnet who shot me a mail outrightly demanding “when are they gonna f*ck?!!!” Lmao. Those reactions are fine too. We’re all fujoshis inside, face it :p I wrote a chapter titled [“Yaoi Bishies” ](%E2%80%9C) in my “The Twincestic Twins Follies” work because of her. See, it’s good to inspire. Thanks for reading.  
> Stay safe.


	10. Chapter 10

"This is Kuran Yuuki. It's complicated but she's the one who had tamed him and as notorious as he is that other one there needs no introduction," said the red haired man. How rude, typical behaviour for a hunter, without a doubt ethics and good conduct were never part of their training- he was not surprised. The hooded, newly arrived hunter however, was wary of him. Kaname instantaneously knew that he was recognised.

  
  


"I'm sorry for barging in like this but it was that jerk that blew your cupboard," Takamiya went on. Yuuki was looking at him, worry etched on her pretty face. He noticed a slight shift of air around the other hunter, he was calculating something, Kaname could tell. Despite not being able to see his face, Kaname knew the man was nervous- he did a very good job at appearing calm but that doesn’t fool him.

  
  


"It's just a cupboard and I'm sure your temper had to do something with that too," the hunter said, his voice light, trying to project benevolence hoping the other around him to feel at ease. Nice try but Kaname saw through it. Takamiya doesn’t seem to believe the act either. "I just came back from an assignment, so forgive me for forgetting my manners,” the man added as he used his left hand to uncover his head. Kaname was almost disappointed when he saw the hunter’s unblemished face- not even a scar, no menacing eyepatch either- he was middle aged, a silver fox but Kaname also noticed the slight resemblance to Kiryuu Zero- they have the same face shape, not as delicate, manlier with a perfectly straight nose and high cheekbones. The man didn’t have the purplish eye colour but his yellowish ones were equally piercing. He had shoulder length, silver hair- tied back with leather chords. Perhaps he was a relative, being familiar enough with Kiryuu. It shouldn’t be much of a surprise since the hunters were often intermarried. The hunter was sizing him up. He detested the sharp amber eyes that were fearlessly staring right back at him, a powerful pureblood vampire like he was a common insect. He decided that he disliked him simply because he resembled that impertinent Kiryuu Zero.

However the redheaded hunter standing by his side was somewhat tense, Kaname noticed the tightening of his muscles, ready for action as if anything would go wrong at any time. Kaname found that strange, but he would wait. He willed his body to relax a notch, bearing an air of nonchalance. Yet, the older hunter still rubs him wrong, too calm, the blood on the weapon does not belong to a single but multiple vampires and it does not bear the stench of those mindless Level-Es. Kaname recalled Takamiya’s earlier exchange with that man.

_"So you have gone over your distaste for vampires, Kaito-kun? You've even brought purebloods over, I'm impressed."_

_"Nothing changed, sensei. I still hate them but something happened to_ **_that boy_ ** _and I have to bring them along to try out the tracing spell in that book,"_

_"What happened to Zero? Have you lost him, Kaito-kun?"_

Then suddenly it hit him, Takamiya never said Kiryuu’s name but the silver fox knew. To think that nobody would notice. How dare he! He suspected that Takamiya must have laid that trap- that cunning redhead. Kaname seethed but he would wait. 

"I'm Tomohisa Atsushi, Zero and Kaito's former mentor and instructor," the silver fox said, almost cockily. Again, Kaname told himself he would wait patiently. The ball was in Takamiya’s court- for now.

Instantly, Kaname remembered the laminated photograph he found earlier. His temper started to boil again as the image flashed in his mind. It was a black and white image of a crying boy- half-dressed and gagged, hands and legs bound together, the skin from the neck above unmarred but the boy beared cuts and lacerations from the shoulders and below. The image screamed abuse and brutality. The boy in that image could be either of the Kiryuu twins but the slight fire shone behind those tear filled eyes convinced him that the boy was Kiryuu Zero. A _teacher_ wouldn't do such things to his _pupil_. Takamiya's reaction when he saw the picture was enough to tell him that there was more to it and he shall find it all out.

"So Kaito, you wanted that book to get Zero?" Tomohisa moved towards the shattered cupboard and started picking up the pieces of scattered paper. Takamiya nodded and immediately helped him. The hunter completely ignored the fact he had enemies in his territory and continued to lecture the redhead, "I can't say I'm not upset with your intrusion and for dragging the Kurans along your reckless ride. I can't believe you've brought purebloods into my home. Where did that entire vampire hating bravado of yours disappear to? Have you lost your mind? What if the nobles thought that you've blackmailed them to come here by force? Do we need another war in our hands? I understand that you need that book but you should have called me about it."

"Sorry, sensei. Won't happen again," the redhead responded, not looking at the older hunter.

Tomohisa stood up, walked over towards the desk and piled the paper in a messy heap. He had his gaze set upon Takamiya who was still busy cleaning up the destruction, "You know very well that I care as much as you do for Zero despite what he had become. I'll do anything for his sake." He suspected the words held a hidden meaning as soon as Takamiya froze. Kaname observed the two silently, stitching the pieces. There was more to this and Takamiya knows. The redhead had tried to hide the book, his strong reaction to that wretched picture was telling, the way he brought up his guard when they first encountered the older hunter was strange and now he is all obedient and compliant. Who was this Tomohisa?

A few moments later, Tomohisa let out a dramatic sigh. "Forgive my rudeness, Kuran-dono. I was too engrossed in being disappointed in this foolish student of mine that I forgot that the two of you are here, I am an old man after all. I don't really know what's going on but if you wanted to find Zero through the taming tattoo, you've come to the right place."

"So it is possible?" Yuuki spoke up. Her anxiety showed and she still had the red book clutched firmly at her side.

The silver haired hunter smiled kindly and nodded, "Yes. But you'll need some of his blood too."

"I have it," she replied firmly.

"Good. Then Kaito-kun should go on and help you with it,"

Takamiya stiffened again. He set the things he had collected aside and dusted his coat awkwardly but said nothing. Kaname could not discern whether Takamiya was cautious of Tomohisa or he was feeling guilty of his intrusion and was anticipating some sort of punishment from his teacher. The older hunter had the air of a cunning around him. Not surprisingly, Tomohisa's amber hued eyes lit up in satisfaction when he noticed Takamiya awkwardness. Kaname did not have to know the two well to tell that they were skirting around something. He had the urge to strap the two hunters down and interrogate and bleed the facts out of them. But an urge is an urge, he can’t act on it- not yet. The hunters did not say anything to one another for a few seconds. Yuuki fiddled with a lock of her hair in that uncomfortable silence. He shot her a look and she stopped, pursing her lips nervously.

"Won't you help sensei? We're running out of time as we speak," it was Takamiya who had broken the silence. 

Tomohisa's smile diminished by a few millimetres and he sighed, "I want to Kaito, but as much as I care for him, I can't. I had specific orders not to get myself into any matter which directly involves Zero unless it was by the association's formal instruction. I wouldn't have known about this disappearance of his if it was not for all of you coming here. I hate to say this but you’re on your own.”

"You can't possibly say that, Tomohisa-san,” protested Yuuki.

"I'm afraid orders stand as orders and I'll abide by them unquestioningly," he clarified. He was no longer smiling. Takamiya averted his gaze elsewhere to avoid Tomohisa's glare. Yuuki had nothing more to say.

"Fine then." Kaname took charge, taking the book from Yuuki to study the bronze wolf emblem that decorated the spine. "We shall take our leave, Tomohisa-san. But we would have to borrow this and your student, Takamiya-san as well,” he said while gazing coldly at the redhead who in turn looked intently back at him, equally cold- challenging.

"Be my guess. I hope you'll find Zero soon. As unstable as he is, something bad might happen if he's compromised. The taming tattoo wouldn't be enough to stop him from falling to Level-E and we will be forced to put him on the list." Tomohisa may sound earnest but Kaname believed otherwise. Yuuki was visibly fighting tears from welling in her eyes. No doubt she's worried again. Takamiya kept quiet, eyeing the katana hanging by the metal door.

"How would you know that?" Yuuki was fighting back her tears and she was angry. "Zero is strong- he will not lose that easily."

Surprisingly, a bitter smile formed on Tomohisa's lips. "Because I was the one who tattooed that taming ink on him and although he seemed unbreakable, I've pushed him beyond his limits before. He is not by all means, invincible.”

000000000

"Leave me here and escape, senpai. It's not worth it." Kiryuu tried to pry himself away. Bravo! Pick this time to be selfless and I'll sacrifice you for sure. The silver bangs were plastered over his dimming red eyes. Aidou knew he was weakening but it was so unlike Kiryuu to give up. But who knows? It's not like they’re friends.

He whacked the vampire hunter hard upside the head. "Should I punch you? After I got skewered to save you? Yuuki-sama would castrate me if I leave you here. I don't care if you don't feel like it but pick another vampire to die on, please. Shut up and move!" He yelled that too loudly because the rumbling footsteps started again, followed by some ear deafening booms on the east side of the building. Please, please move stupid. The pests had scaled their way down.

He growled in frustration when Kiriyu refused to budge. "Move, Kiryuu!" he shouted, not caring if his voice gave away their exact location in the old slaughter freezer. He coiled the long chain dangling from Kiryuu's shackles in one hand, wrapped the other one around Kiryuu’s waist and used his might to haul him towards the door. Kiryuu was exerting too much energy to control his breathing and just to remain standing to prevent from being wholly half-carried half-dragged by him. The wet muddied floor made it harder for him to keep his balance but at least the gangly teen was cooperating.

"Why do you have to grow so tall, dumbass? God must really hate me," he complained. Kiryuu didn't answer back. Aidou got a good look at the real extent of the injuries Kiryuu sustained. The mangled hands should belong to a week old rotting corpse and he could not sense any heat from the bare clammy vampire hunter's skin. Lugging Kiryuu forwards was like dragging a lump of half-dead carcass. The vampire hunter was extremely weak, that he could tell. Nonetheless, his consideration of staying back to die infuriated him. I'll protect you no matter what to the end. I'll show you. Oh, no. That sounds so wrong, Hanabusa. Tch!

Swiftly, Aidou jerked the door open and snuck a hesitant peek at the unmoving Takahashi lying helpless on the floor of the freezer. The Es would kill the traitor. Kiryuu coughed as the result of the jarring movement. "He'll be torn to pieces," croaked the vampire hunter. He read his mind.

"He signed his own doom the minute he betrayed me," he murmured and although Kiryuu replied nothing, Aidou could feel his conflict. The strange hunter was too soft-hearted for his own good. He bared his neck for you Hanabusa. What do you expect? Grouchily, he kicked the door shut and locked it. "There. He stands a chance all right. Stop pouting and focus on living!"

There was an eerie moment of silence and he could feel the Es closing in. Both of them were caked in dried blood and there were no way the vile creatures would miss them. Kiryuu the prideful hunter would not like it but Aidou would have to stop them alone, by himself before they could get to Kiryuu because the said hunter was in no shape to fight. Like he'll ever admit that fact. Hurriedly, he dragged the confused vampire hunter to a corner where a cluster of old rusty drum bins were lined and dumped him and the black haversack behind them. Aidou caught the glint of a metal meat hook on the floor, picked it up and trusted it into Kiryuu’s bound hands. "I know you're capable of fighting but please let me handle this one," he said firmly. As expected, Kiryuu looked pissed and was about to snarl something out but he kicked the teen injured in the ribs, sending him into a coughing fit. "Just stay down!" Aidou barked before racing to the front.

After several deafening bangs, the front door of the warehouse flew open and he immediately saw three silhouettes standing against the black painted night. Their tattered, mud covered clothing was not enough to mask the smell of rot and death that spewed and cloaked around them. Like typical Level-Es, their eyes glowed in bloodlust. What the hell? They were blazing yellow instead of the usual red. The drugs! Moreover, he could sense something very wrong.

"Get his head!" an awfully familiar voice roared in the background. 

  
Oh, hello Mr. Ogre. 

Simultaneously, the three Level-Es screeched and charged at him. One of them was a woman with long, dirty brown hair and her once red coloured dress was reduced to rags. Her face contorted in her drugged bloodthirsty frenzy. She took a swipe at him with the elongated claws but he managed to dodge and sent her crashing several feet away with a kick to her side. Her shrill yell made his hair stand on its ends. Aidou didn’t have a lot of experience fighting but he has something much better- desperation for survival. Plus, he had Kiryuu to protect. His heart twinged strangely when he thought about it.

The two males closed in, baring their fangs. Aidou lunged forward and twisted the head off of one of them with all his might. There was no way around the blood spray, he cringed. Eww! Get rid of it! His mind screamed and he flung the grotesque head out through the door. The body floundered violently in search of the missing head before disintegrating into dust. That was too easy. His strength was back. Now, as for my ability to freeze. He concentrated, summoning it but nothing happened. Shit!

During his brief distraction, something collided with him and crashed onto the floor. It was a boy about Kiryuu’s age. The other male E had moved faster than he had anticipated, straddled and pinned him down, raising those sharp claws above his head to drive it straight through his heart. He felt it, the sickening tug in his loins when he knew that he had messed up. He could see the female E in the distance, licking her lips in anticipation from the corner of his eye.

But the male's hand stopped mid-way, and blood spurted from its left shoulder. He caught the glint of curved metal embedded in the wound. Who? Then he realized. Stupid Kiryuu! The male E was wrenched backwards, and his vision was locked onto a wheezing silver haired vampire hunter. The freshly bloodied meat hook was held firmly in his hands. Kiriyu's eyes were burning red, stimulated by the heavy scent of blood.

It was Kiryuu's turn to be pounced on. The female E had all her clawed fingers around his neck, screeching loudly while smashing and pounding the vampire hunter's head repeatedly against the concrete floor. She's not going to bite him? Kiryuu roared and kneed her in the stomach, sending her flying off in a red blur. Aidou got back onto his feet, rushed over to the disorientated Kiryuu and pulled him up. "I thought I told you to stay down!"

"I would never listen to you," whispered the vampire hunter hoarsely while shaking his dizzied head. "They're strange."

"Tell me something I don't know.” Aidou pushed the vampire hunter away before the crazed female could hurtle into them. She landed perfectly on all fours and took a swipe at Kiryuu back, shrieking delightedly, licking his blood. The vampire hunter seized the moment to deliver a vicious kick into her face, crunching bones and cartilage into messy pulp. The E let out an anguished scream and tried to scamper away but Kiryuu grabbed one of her ankles, pulled her down and drove the meat hook swiftly into her heart. Her body shriveled instead of disintegrating to dust. 

However, both of them had overlooked the injured young E who had been waiting for his chance to attack. The E charged into Kiryuu, choosing the weaker opponent, a sign of lucidity, wrestling the makeshift weapon off his hands. Aidou had anticipated the E to shank Kiryuu with it but instead, it grabbed Kiryuu by the hair and pushed him down face first onto the floor. The E licked the long cut on Kiriyu's back, chortling in delight, "Yesss... Master told me you are delicious!”

Master? This thing could talk? Must be that sicko’s drug at work. Aidou observed the glowing yellow eyes change to red as it bared its fangs, ready to bite. Finally, behaving like an E. Aidou has seen enough so he used his vampire speed to sprint towards the creature and elbowed the unguarded E in the neck, crushing the windpipe but not enough to kill it. Kiryuu scrambled up to his knees and bashed the screeching E repeatedly with his anti-vampire shackles in the head, splattering singed E blood and grey matter onto himself, Aidou gagged. Count on a pissed off Kiryuu to fight like a neanderthal. Any implications of Tomohisa so far were enough to invoke Kiryuu’s violent side, all mad and senseless. He would let Kiryuu let out his craziness for the time because he had a bigger fish to catch.

  
  


Aidou scanned the surroundings and spotted his target, the pea-brained, giant of a hunter scurrying out of the warehouse like a big-fat, giant rat. Coward. Aidou turned on his heels and intercepted the man at the main entrance. Grinning, he punched the him in the face, careful not to damage it too much. Mr. Ogre howled in pain and quickly brandished his weapon. A two feet long club like weapon with a spiked end. Oh yikes, a morning star? How drearily medieval. Aidou sighed. Blood dripped from Mr. Ogre’s stumpy nose into his mouth, staining the crooked teeth red. Aidou licked his lips just to rattle the man.

"Do NOT kill him!" he heard Kiryuu shout out a warning. Aidou let out another sigh. Kiryuu is a party pooper, he groused.

Mr. Ogre let out his battle yell and swung the spiky thing at him. Aidou dodged, swooped low and kicked the man in his right shin, hard enough to hear Mr. Ogre’s bone snapped before rolling out of the way. As expected, the clumsy giant howled in pain before crashing down like rotten timbre. The oaf still managed to hold onto the weapon and swung it dangerously close to his right foot. It snagged the leg of his filthy dress pants and tore it. Aidou leaped back out of range but he could hear Kiryuu dragging himself closer to the fight. Stupid moron! I could handle this just fine!

During his brief distraction to search for Kiryuu, the fallen hunter had done something he had not anticipated. Aidou could no longer move his feet. They were grounded solid onto the floor because he found himself standing on a flickering webbed ring of runes of some sort. Shit, fuck! Hunter crafts? Shit, shit, shit! He froze. The ugly mammoth of a man snorted, let out a horrid satisfied guffaw as he got up to his feet to take a swing with that blasphemous piece of weapon. No, I refuse to die in the hands of something this ugly! No, no, no, no! Kaname-sama, please help me! Panic engulfed him.

However, Mr. Ogre's cackle did not last long, he spluttered and choked. Aidou could not pin-point the cause at first until he spotted chains tightly coiled around the hunter's neck. The vampire hunter had somehow managed to wrap the free, cement encrusted end of the chain attached to his shackles as a weapon. Kiryuu was apparently a genius, or had moonlighted as a gaucho herding cattle, or one sick combat maniac to improvise the thing like a bolas. The cemented end was a perfect substitute for a counterweight for the chain. Aidou was almost ashamed of himself for admiring Kiryuu’s fighting prowess. Almost.

Finally, Aidou got a good glimpse at the silver haired vampire hunter staggering form when the teen stepped on the long chain with his foot so that the man was forced to crash down, head first onto the floor. Timbre! Gotcha, Mr. Ogre. The menacing, spiky weapon cluttered a few feet away. Kiryuu managed to shoot a glare at the blonde before dropping down to his knees, coughing and heaving.

As soon as the paralyzing web dispersed, Aidou leapt onto the struggling giant, applying pressure onto the wrangled neck and let a manic grin permanently plastered on his face. "Credits to you for pulling that fancy-schmancy voodoo on me. Too bad you've forgotten that Kiryuu’s so in love with me that he'll save me no matter what!" Aidou was aware he sounded crazy but he didn’t care. The silver haired vampire hunter could kill him later because he was thoroughly enjoying the disgusted look on the human's face.

"You know what I'm going to do to you, hunter?" He wrapped the longer end of the chain around his hand and yanked tighter. The skin on his palms hissed as it was burned by the anti-vampire metal but he clamped down the pain. It would heal. Mr. Ogre's eyes bulged as he choked and spluttered for air. He clawed at the coils around his neck in his futile effort to loosen it. The oaf was convinced he was going to die and that made the blonde grin wider.

0000000000

"Kaname!" she called after him. "Wait!" He turned back and saw her hurrying alongside the red haired hunter towards him. Their urgent steps echoed loudly in the dark wet tunnel. The three of them had taken their leave from the grey washed, shiny hunter morgue through the double steel doors. According to the despicable hunter called Tomohisa, they should emerge from the transportation tunnel somewhere at the west side of the hill. He had called for the chauffeur to wait for them there. The silver haired hunter had not been lying about the tunnel's main function, to enable trucks, cars or even hearses to transport dead bodies in and out of the place. Tire tracks and potholes covered the soft ground and he could smell faint traces of exhaust fumes off the granite walls.

Finally, the two caught up to him. Yuuki was panting in exertion while Takamiya wore an uninterested expression. Kaname resumed his pace, making Yuuki groan in protest, hugging the heavy old book closer to her torso. Her delicate shoes were ruined, dirtied, covered with grime but she did not seem to care and yelled. "Why are you so mad, Kaname. Wait up!" He could smell fresh air up ahead and heard the faint sound of the idling car engine so he quickened his pace.

Outside, the chauffeur was waiting, standing alert with his sword securely sheathed by his side. The beams from the headlights cut through the starless nightscape. He nodded to Kaname and opened the passenger door. A few seconds later, Yuuki emerged from behind the dark foliage covered entrance with an edgy looking hunter trailing close behind her.

"Hand it to me, Takamiya," Kaname commanded, stretching out his right hand. The hunter cocked his head to one side and scrunched his forehead in feigned puzzlement. Kaname felt his temper boiling, "Give me the sword, now!"

Much to Yuuki's astonishment, Takamiya made a cheeky face, reached back under his long, olive green coat to produce an elegant, black sheathed katana and threw it over to Kaname’s ready hands. "Good man, you make a perfect thief," he mockingly complimented the redhead who in turn snorted back disdainfully. 

The three of them gathered closer together to examine the weapon. Yuuki flipped her hair to one side and prodded the thing with her forefinger. "Isn’t this the sword Tomohisa brought in earlier? I can't believe you took it, Takamiya-san. This the one Zero's sensei hung by the door. Look, it’s not hunter-made,” Yuuki remarked. Then she arched her eyebrows in shock and pulled the blade partially out by the haft.

"Now what?" asked the redhead. "I took it only because I knew it does not belong to Tomohisa-sensei," he quipped.

Kaname tugged it gently out of Yuuki's grasp and turned the scabbard over, revealing a unique three-petal flower enclosed in a complete circle engraved on the haft. Yuuki inhaled sharply and fingered the design, "This symbol belongs to the Aidou clan. I saw it a few times before. What does this mean, Kaname? And the scent on the blade..."

She noticed it, the familiar but mingled scent of Zero’s blood. Obviously the distracting second contributor must be Aidou and another unidentified vampire but to his knowledge, the blonde had never carried or owned a sword to begin with. 

Kaname ignored her and glared distrustfully at the suddenly placid Takamiya, "You planned this didn't you? You knew of the book, the photograph, and that teacher of yours."

Yuuki's eyes widened in disbelief and she stepped closer to Kaname, clutching his left arm for security. "Planned? What plan, Takamiya-san?"

The redhead sighed and shook his head, "Believe what you want but seriously, I don't really know what you're getting at. I had a hunch, all right? The minute I heard Zero going AWOL, that character you met back there popped into my head. A hunch, get it? You saw that thing right?" He must have been meaning the laminated piece of profanity. Yes, I did. And I abhorred it. Thought Kaname. The piece of photograph was still lying uselessly in his coat pocket. He could tell Yuuki wanted to tear it out from him to get a look but she kept her composure and glared at him in contempt instead.

Takamiya continued his defence, "The princess's request to use the taming tattoo is worth checking it out. What did your noses tell you, vampires? Am I right?"

"You might be. But I don't appreciate being stage-managed like a common hoodwink. Especially by a callous hunter like you," Kaname seethed. Yuuki held on to him tighter as if to caution him not to flare out in his barely contained rage. Why am I so upset over that worthless Level-D hunter? 

Takamiya turned his gaze elsewhere and smacked his lips worriedly. Kaname knew his eyes had turned a shade redder than the usual brown. The chauffeur must have sensed his displeasure and had placed a wary hand on the hilt of his own sword.

It was Yuuki's turn to speak. "Come to think of it, Takamiya-san had never said that it was Zero who had been missing. Tomohisa-san came out with that on his own."

“How right you are, hime-chan.”

“You purposely tricked him.”

“That, I did.”

“Again, I pray you remember that I do not appreciate your swindling ways,” Kaname warned the hunter.

"Fine, my gravest apologies. Nevertheless, we have a lead now. I'll report back to Cross," the hunter said. Yuuki shifted her eyes from Takamiya to him, waiting for his reaction.

However, Kaname was not thoroughly convinced the matter with Tomohisa was over. He had more uncovering to do. "Do that, Yuuki will make sure of it. She'll deal with you in case you're building another armada of lies. Then, you'll assist her to track down Kiryuu. I've sent Akatsuki over there earlier."

Yuuki released his arm and looked at him worriedly. She reached up to gently stroke his cheek and intuitively he leaned in to the touch. He had the impression that she had casted him aside in her worry for the two missing ones before but he was not so. "What about you, Kaname?" She asked in concern. Takamiya scoffed at their open display of affection and muttered something like sappy vamps and incest. Kaname chose to ignore the idiot.

"Go. No need to be anxious over me," he smiled at her before dispersing in a flurry of flapping black winged creatures.

Yuuki had her lips pursed into a bitter smile. She seemed lonely clutching the book close like a lost, ghostly pale girl with her long brown hair fluttering in the wind. Let her grow. Trust her, said his inner voice. Takamiya looked up with his arms crossed over his chest, almost happy to have him out of his hair. As for the hunter, although as devious as he was, Kaname could count on Takamiya Kaito for keeping harm from getting to his beloved. Except, he is not as trustworthy as Kiryuu Zero.

0000000000

"Stop playing around, princess!" he heard Kiryuu’s raspy voice in the background. Oh right, he's just at the other end of the fucking chain. Aidou could no longer feel the vampire hunter's presence. It's either he was masking it or he was too weak to emit his lowly vampire waves. Aidou settled on the latter hypothesis. He had to do something fast. Dead Kiryuu means no Kiryuu, and no Kiryuu, slim chance to get that memory fragment back. Fuck!

Mr. Ogre's frantic gurgle snapped him back to reality, "Oh, sorry I forgot about you for a moment there." Aidou tightened the chain and watched the oaf's eyes roll slightly back, and released the pressure. Immediately, Mr. Ogre spluttered from the sudden intake of air. Aidou raised the man’s head off the floor and slammed it back down roughly. The hunter was breathing hard. Why does this seem a way bit off?

"Quit toying around, Aidou! You fucking gross!" barked Kiryuu. Weak, but he still barked. Corgis, chihuahuas and Pomeranians were dogs too. Aidou looked over to the vampire hunter who had an extremely sickened expression on his face and it was not due to his injuries or bloodlust. Then it dawned upon him- he was straddling Mr. Ogre and he was causing the dimwit breathe funny. Eeewww! Kiryuu’s brain is in the gutter. Oh, fuck! Ewwww...

In his disgust, Aidou slapped Mr. Ogre a bit too hard across the face, cutting his cheek in the process. The stench of his blood made him want to heave. And I thought all hunter blood should taste nice like Kiryuu’s. Bummer! Mr. Orge snarled back so he applied the pressure back.

"Sorry pal, Kiryuu never permits me to do breath-play with anybody else but I couldn't resist to experiment," he smirked deviously and consequently heard the silver haired vampire groan in disgust. He eased the constriction to let the man breath again.

"Now listen and do as I say or I'll kill you. Do you read?" Aidou taunted his captive. Mr. Ogre tried to push him off but he immediately strangled him again. The hunter nodded his head urgently in forced agreement so Aidou smiled wickedly and demanded, "First, free Kiryuu. No tricks or I'll twist your head off so fast you won't even have the chance to scream for mommy. Get it?"

Mr. Ogre glared at him with his glazed, bloodshot eyes and reluctantly nodded. "Not convincing enough, fat boy," he jeered, tightening the chains again. The hunter opened his mouth in desperation and gurgled out his concurrence. "Good," he grinned and eased his hold. 

"Git im clo'er," Mr. Ogre croaked. The chains must have damaged his vocal chords. Aidou felt proud of himself for all the wrong reasons but he didn’t care.

Looking over his shoulder, Aidou beckoned Kiryuu to move closer but the vampire hunter refused. "He can fucking do that from there. The chains are fucking connected to these damned shackles."

With that information, Aidou snapped his gaze back onto the obese hunter and increased the strain on the chains again. "Do it before I decide to squeeze your neck so tight, it turns into a sausage!" he was beginning to lose his patience.

Anticipating a trick, he gripped the hunter's chin with his left hand and twisted it far to one side as if to snap it off at any second. Unsurprisingly, the lumbering mammoth complied. There was the familiar warmth surging in the chains and he heard Kiryuu throw the now deactivated shackles onto the floor.

"Put those on him, Kiryuu," he ordered. The vampire hunter shot him a bored, tired look, but still reached over and silently snapped it on Mr. Ogre. Satisfied, he flashed a teasing grin at the glowering Kiryuu. "Thank you, my love," he leered. In response, Kiryuu rolled his still red tainted eyes. Too bad Kiryuu was feeling slight under the weather, or else Aidou was sure he would have been rewarded with a string of colourful expletives. 

Aidou got up to his feet and did his best to dust off his destroyed dress pants and made a quick assessment on his torn, once cream coloured silk shirt, "Oh, my mom's so going to kill me. My shirt is all ruined," he whined theatrically. The restrained hunter tried to scoot away and run but he caught him squirming by the collar like a six year-old brat and hauled him back onto the floor.

"Now, now.. big boy, stay still," he pretended to coax the man and grasped the top of the man's head violently. "If you think we vampire's don't have some voodoo tricks of our own, then you're wrong, Mister Hunter," he said, letting some of his energy seep through the man's cranium, deep into his brain. _Behave like an obedient doggy like you're supposed to till I tell you otherwise- stay!_ He commanded before releasing the man. The effect may be temporary considering his current limitations to access his vampiric abilities but even so, the traitorous hunter sank down onto his knees, eyes blank and passive as Aidou wanted him to be. Kiriyu watched the whole event in grim silence.

The blond smirked at the vampire hunter who was staggering up onto his feet. Despite his compromised state, Kiryuu Zero's luminous beauty and fiery determination overshadowed his weaknesses. Pleased with the rare sight, Aidou stepped up closer to him and stared squarely at those tantalizing red stained, amethyst orbs. The thirst was getting out of control, he could very much tell because although the vampire hunter tried to suppress it mainly by controlling his erratic breathing, the blood lust was evident in those eyes which gleaned like crystalline glass mirrors.

"As for you, my tragic Melpomene. Let's do something about your pain," he smiled sinisterly at the silver haired vampire while reaching up, letting his right fingers brush against that perfectly ashen skin marked by the intimidating but intricate tattoo on the left side of his neck. 

Kiryuu stiffened and grasped his wrist roughly, attempting to push them away but Aidou had the upper hand in terms of strength. Unperturbed, the blonde swiftly laced both of his hands in Kiryuu’s silvery tresses, behind those exotically pierced ears and pulled the vampire hunter's head down beside his own. He could hear his own heartbeat pounding in his ears but he had made his resolve.

Kiryuu snarled in his futile defiance, released the wrists and placed them against the blonde’s violently beating chest. Pushing, but weakened, he couldn’t move Aidou. 

"You think I like this, Kiryuu?" Aidou hissed. "Do you think I really want to do this?" he asked, hoping to quell the vampire hunter's rage by holding him firmly. He turned the glowering vampire hunter’s face towards his. 

Aidou smirked and bit his own tongue repeatedly, cutting and tearing it till the welling blood seeped past his lips. He was sure the scent had hit Kiryuu’s senses hard because he saw the fangs lengthening past those discoloured, chapped lips, unable to resist the temptation any longer. Oh hell, you're so stubborn that you'll end up dead, arrogant prick! 

"Fuck princess, let go! " Kiryuu growled in his face.

"Oh, I will, once you've done just the same," Aidou whispered softly as he moved in to lick those vile, sensuously insolent lips, teasing them and smearing them with his own blood. His impulsive act both repulsed and intrigued him simultaneously. Liking the was he was able to affect the ex-human- gradually breaking down those solid barriers. "Now we can both let go, don't you think?" he teased, parting his lips in deliberate slowness, letting a trace of the crimson sinful life source spill down his chin. Kiryuu’s eyes immediately burned red and locked onto it- following hungrily like a predator.

It was too late for Aidou to regret or back off because the vampire hunter had jerked his head back and erased the bloody trickle with his soft tongue, licking his way up from the side of the blond vampire's neck up to his jaw, his chin and his lips. 

Oh shit, fuck! What the hell? Aidou cursed his decision. His nerves burned from the sensation and to his horror, he shivered involuntarily and his own fangs elongated in his frantic confusion. Kiryuu had lost himself because soon, he was sucking off the blonde’s lips hard enough to bruise. Shit!

Stumped, Aidou carelessly released his hold on Kiryuu’s head and the silver haired vampire hunter seized the opportunity to catch the noble's mouth, covering it with his own. Sucking and lapping the blood in unrestrained fervour. Curse my fucking God, make him stop! 

He got another electrifying shock when the vampire hunter's tongue caressed his, sucking on it to get it to bleed more. Those long, graceful fingers had buried themselves in his hair, supporting his neck as Kiryuu leaned more into him, causing him to throw his head back and claw at the strong broad shoulders to prevent him from completely losing his leverage.

As the result he had unintentionally pulled himself flush against Kiryuu’s firmly muscled torso and worse, he had gripped the shoulders too hard, breaking the skin, puncturing it with his sharp fingernails- drawing blood. 

Stifling a moan, he felt his own bloodlust surfacing when he caught a whiff of the silver haired vampire's unusual flavour.He smelt like the purebloods. Of sin, of pleasure and of power. Stop it, I want none of it!

Aidou reeled, he wanted to experience that high once more- like the time Kiriyu restored him with his blood sacrifice. How Aidou would kill to have that wonderfully delicious liquid wash over his palette again, seeping into his loins and reliving that indescribably euphoric bliss.

  
  


And the power that comes with it.

  
  


Kiryuu Zero smelled and tasted like the purebloods.

The tattoo on the side of Kiryuu’s neck blazed fiercely and those sinewy, thick bluish veins taunted him to puncture them with his fangs and lap up the glorious life force surging within.

Suddenly, Kiryuu fisted his hair and yanked so hard that he screamed out in pain. Then he felt it, Kiryuu’s sharp, hot canines ghosting against his quivering skin, anticipating the rupture. "Just do it!" he hissed furiously at the vampire hunter.

Kiryuu let out an indistinct growl and then, he felt them. He felt the razor-like columns push deeper and deeper into his yielding flesh. Veins punctured and the sound of rushing blood deafened his senses. He felt helpless, submissive, like a rat bitten and paralyzed by a venomous viper.

Strangely, he was engulfed in unexplained warmth, every of his sensitive nerve endings lit up and responded to Kiryuu’s punishing hold on him. He felt it, the pressure of each and every finger that was indented into his skin, the sharp stabs of the half-moon fingernails, the rippling hard muscles in those corded arms as they moved against his clothed back tortured him to the edge. The rapturous high was deceiving his brain, making him neglect the imminent risk of Kiryuu losing complete control, draining him dry by masking the pain with adrenaline heightened pleasure.

Aidou could no longer feel his legs so the silver haired vampire brought them both down to their knees. One of Kiryuu’s hands had moved down to his back, making the blonde arch his spine further while securely supporting his neck with the other. Whatever Kiryuu was doing to him, he was helpless and he was diminishing. Fast.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> April 8th, 2020
> 
> Did it overdo it? It felt like I’ve just written porn. I didn’t, but it felt like it. Is blood drinking porn possible? 
> 
> You like?


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this AU, blood-bonds exists. Also, Kaname is in for a big surprise.

The redhead sitting beside her fingered and the plush leather seat he was sitting on and hummed in appreciation, ignoring the sudden jolts and sways one would experience during car rides as they headed out towards the main road. Tomohisa's residence was located far off the main roads and the unpaved gravel path was covered with giant puddles and potholes. They had been bouncing around in the luxurious interior of the vehicle for at least a quarter of an hour.

"A Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II, " he whistled in unabashed admiration. "No wonder you dumped Zero for the jerk."

Yuuki paid no heed to the hunter's repartee and flipped the heavy book open, studying the yellowing pages. Much to her dismay, she could not make sense of the messy, unorganized contents. The old pages were covered by scrawls in blotchy ink, hand drawn diagrams, hastily pentacles filled with scratchy runes, dog-eared, and heavily stained. Even the leather cover was dried and cracked, a telltale sign of frequent use. It had a suspicious smell to it- like blood. Yuuki thought it looked more like a journal than a real book. Frustration crept up on her as she went through the pages like a madman, or a madwoman, to be precise- flipping through them faster and faster, forgetting her strength and finally accidentally tore off a page. She held up the paper wide eyed before wringing her hands. She slid the torn paper in between random pages, instantly regretting not paying enough attention to Aidou's lessons on how to read old scripts.

Takamiya scoffed at her antics but instead of coming out with one of his scathing remarks he clicked his tongue and took the book away from her lap. She glared at him when he abruptly snapped the book shut and weighed it in his rough hands. Yuuki listened for his heartbeat, thundering in her ears as she intensified her glare. He looked like an impish playground bully as he waved the red thing in her face.

"Actually, the thing we’re looking for is not in the pages, your highness," he said, fingering the intricate, wolf head emblem made of bronze with one callused, pointer finger. There was nothing extraordinary about it apart from the size of the thing. It could fit snugly in the palms of her hand and much to her shock, he plucked the thing off, blew on it to rid of the dust and dropped it onto her lap. "That is what we need to find that Level-D prick," he added, pretending not to notice Yuuki's wounded look. She could not stand by anybody who degrades Zero.

Looking at him, Yuuki was unsure whether she could believe the hunter because those green eyes bear too much malice for her to trust. He displayed hatred for her race as much as he breathed air to live. Refusing to cower under the hunter's intensifying gaze, she studied the heavy bronze carving, flipping it over, discovering a pentagram inscribed with miniscule symbols and more runes, intricately etched on the flat surface. She was unsure and a bit intimidated with what she would be required to do afterwards but showing vulnerability to Takamiya was out of the question.

"Ah, is that so?” she said, raising the emblem up to her eye level, marvelling at the exquisite workmanship. However, there was something about that thing that made her feel uneasy. The metal, she noticed, reacted to her skin- the metal heated up upon contact and eerily the wolf seemed to come alive, ready to howl at her, a vampire- one of the purest of their wretched kind. Yuuki steeled herself. "Let's get on to it. What should I do first?" She asked him. Takamiya sighed, rolled his eyes and pointed at a nearly forgotten bundle by her side. Great Yuuki, ask a stupid question. Embarrassed, she hid her flushing face under the veil of her thick lustrous hair. "Here, Zero's blood." She produced the silk wrapped, blood stained wood she pried off from Zero's apartment and arranged it on her lap. Takamiya touched the white fabric for a fleeting second but withdrew and placed his right hand under his chin, staring at her curiously. Yuuki raised her eyebrows in puzzlement. "What?"

He didn't answer. Instead, he reached forward and searched the car's control panel, studying it for a few seconds. Then, Takamiya found the thing he was looking for and flicked on the switch which raises the screen between them and the chauffeur. Yuuki caught the wary eyes of the eldery vampire pleading with her in the rear view mirror. Silently, she commanded him to stand down and faced the hunter, feeling the reassuring press of Artemis hidden under her skirt, right against her thigh. She'll drive it right through Takamiya’s eye socket if he opts for sabotage and trickery.

Takamiya fingered his messy fiery bangs and gazed at her with his mistrusting green eyes. "There are a few things I need to know before we do this."

"Well, so do I," she sighed. Takamiya is a hard nut to crack and she hates to admit that he somehow reminded her of Zero- stubborn, foul-mouthed, crass but surprisingly dependable.

"Sure, ladies first," Takamiya sneered while dipping his head in a convoluted, disrespectful bow.

0000000000

He looked around for any sign of the blond noble but he was nowhere in sight. One minute he was mauling the Level-B and the next minute he was there, waiting like a fool- standing in a stark white and empty room. He was wearing his school uniform, the black leather shoes shone like he had spent thirteen hours spit-polishing them. How dandy- whereas he had never touched shoe polish in the last five years of his pitiful lifetime. He must be dead, poisoned and died from ingesting that shameless flirt’s blood. Serves you right, Kiryuu Zero.

The air was frozen in there. The white walls were encrusted with a thin layer of frost. Somehow everything seemed off, it was supposed to be cold but he did not feel cold. He scraped the leather soles of his shoes on the icy floor, causing tiny crystalline flecks of ice fragments to rise and disperse- turned to dust. What the heck? He wondered and suddenly, the floor tilted violently. Growling in irritation, he had lost his footing and was falling, unable to maintain his balance.

Landing flat on his back, he found himself staring into a pair of deep reddish brown eyes obscured by dark, glossy strands of hair. He had seen them before. A pale graceful hand was extended, waiting for him to take it. They were in a garden filled with spring flowers and old oaks. Zero sat up awkwardly on wet, dewy grass peppered with dried leaves and stray flower petals.

The boy began speaking to him. "Come on, give me your hand. I'll help you up," he knew that voice- that unforgettable dark undertone hidden in the pleasantly kind timbre. "It's all right. You didn't do anything wrong,” the boy reassured him.

There was something else scattered among the rustling leaves and he saw it- one dust filled dress shoe and an equally dusty, black pinstriped suit lying uselessly on the ground and there were faint, distant anguished sobs in the background. What in the world? He searched for the one crying but he found nothing except that pair of calm red-brown eyes peering down at him. He could not see the face because bright sun rays were stinging his vision. His guts told him he knew the mysterious boy too well and despite the warm reassuring voice, the oppressing aura the boy was projecting made him want to bolt and run. This was no ordinary boy- he reeked vampire.

Zero turned to his right, towards the source of the pitiful crying he was hearing. Another unfamiliar boy with brown hair was crying on the ground, hugging his knees. He could tell that this too like the other one is not human. Yuck, crying vampire kids. He cringed. What the hell is going on?

"Give me your hand," the first boy said again, the request sounded more like a command despite the gentle, coaxing tone. Zero reached out tentatively, but before his right hand could come in contact with the boy's, another pair of cold pale ones swiftly wrenched them away so forcefully, that he had fallen flat onto his back. The two vampire boys were gone, replaced by a squinting pair of darkening amethyst. He caught the flash of light hair glimmering in the sunlight as the newcomer bent over him, laughing airily and warned, "Ah-ah no, no fraternising with strange little boys, Zero!"

He immediately recognized the voice so he reached up to grab each side of the open jacket the person was wearing and pulled him down into a crushing embrace. "Ack, too tight! Lemme go.” The person squirmed on top of him, wrestled his arms off to pin them to the ground. Zero’s vision focused, leaving him to stare into his own mirror image smiling down at him. "Happy to see me?" 

Zero could not believe his eyes. His dead twin was right there, straddling his waist, grinning like a loony. 

"Ichiru! Where are we? Am I…?”

"Don't know, don't really care but no, you're not dead," his twin rose to his feet and pulled him up. "But then again, maybe you are goners coz you just bear-hugged me. My Zero doesn't do that," Ichiru snickered while brushing off stray blades of grass and a few dried leaves off his jacket.

"Are you real?" he raised his right hand and gently touched the crown of Ichiru's head, ruffling the soft silvery strands, earning a puzzled look from his twin.

"Tch, are you real? Coz I'm positive I'm physically dead and this could be some kind of sick torture God panned out for my afterlife."

"I'm real," he replied softly to Ichiru. "But I don't know if this really is though. I don't think it is."

Ichiru crossed his arms in front of him, creasing his uniform, the one he used to wear back in the academy. He had buried Ichiru in those clothes. Ichiru had never wanted to become a hunter and he hated suits, tuxedos and other types of 'monkey suits' with fervour- just like he himself had disliked them too- they were twins after all. He hadn’t much time nor the resources back then so the school uniform was the next best choice though he wished he could have sourced for a proper kimono- as Ichiru had adored Shizuka. He would give anything to make Ichiru happy, he always had, especially when he was sending him off for his final rest. No kimono- it would highly offend some people. He recalled his mentor, Yagari Toga bristling at him, chiding him for being insane- burying Ichiru in a kimono is similar to declaring that he was mourning for his maker, Hiou Shizuka, a demon who carried herself like a princess Heian era he was supposed to hate- never forgiven. So in the end, the dark blue uniform and white shirt it was. Besides, that final memory of Ichiru looking like a sleeping schoolboy helped Zero imagine that they would really have a different kind of future at the academy- no death, no betrayal, never separated, merely living a boring student life like ordinary teens amongst other equally boring Day Class students- like they were never born to hunter parents, like they were not deeply embroiled with the vampires.

At the moment, he was overcome with various emotions because his twin was right in front of him. 

"My dead little gut's telling me that all of this is not real." Ichiru tilted his head to one side making the copper bells tied back in his hair tinkle. "Especially when I see those two little bloodsucking cherubs over there," he said as he pointed somewhere to his left.

The scene changed, they were standing in a room filled with books, a library with high ceilings lighted with quaint crystal chandeliers. A young vampire with messy yellow hair and big blue eyes was crying by the large window while another one with longish dark hair was staring quietly at the former. "Aidou and Kuran- why are we here?" he mumbled as he saw the young version of Kuran approach the tear-stricken blonde and hugged him. Kuran was about the age when he had first seen him in Cross's home. Instantly, something inside him simmer and boiled, he made a face.

Then he felt Ichiru's arm snaking around his waist and whispered into the shell of his ear. "Something you want to tell me, Zero? You look constipated." Horrified, he stared at his snickering ghost of a brother. "Perhaps I'm not the only one whose heart is enslaved by a pureblood," taunted his twin. As much as Zero wanted to argue, it would be a waste of energy to engage Ichiru in something he couldn’t win. He has never bested Ichiru in a verbal argument so he neither didn’t confirm nor denied, silently retaliated by poking Ichiru in between his eyebrows with his forefinger. 

“Ouch, damn it, Zero!”

Then the scene around them was changing again, the library melted and morphed. Zero was hit with a wave of vertigo so he closed his eyes hoping to regain his bearings. As soon as he reopened them, he found Ichiru’s fingers interlaced with his and they were standing inside a familiar looking building- a corridor. He looked over to Ichiru questioningly and in response, his brother shrugged his shoulders in indifference. There was a partially closed door at the furthest end. Moonlight spilled through windows and the air was heavy with metallic scent of blood. There were bloodied footsteps on the floor trailing into the room behind the door. Stomach dropping in dread, he recognized that scene. His twin had a grim expression etched on his face.

"Let's get out of here Zero. Let's leave!" Ichiru tugged his hand, forcing him to walk along the corridor, away from the door. Just then, Aidou emerged from around a corner and walked stealthily past them. Zero halted them both, then dragged the hissing Ichiru after the blonde.

"There's nothing that could be done!" Ichiru screamed at him. “This is not real!”

But Zero paid no heed to his struggles and followed Aidou's back. "Shut up! We need to see this. This is your closure, our closure!" he snapped at his bewildered double.

"Oh, no, no, I had mine! You don't need closure, you bastard! You hate her, you killed her and this is not even real!"

Zero grabbed Ichiru by his collar and glared at his furious genetic copy with an equal amount of spite, "Yes, I hate her as much as I despise you for lending her a hand in the murder of our parents. But she's dead! We need to see what he did to her. I. Did. Not. Kill. Her- _he_ did!" he shook Ichiru by the shoulders hoping that would help instil some sense into him.

Aidou was peeking through the door. It was happening. 

Ichiru, in the meantime, narrowed his eyes in disgust. " _He_?" he hissed. "It was Kuran Kaname, wasn’t it?" Ichiru was seething with barely restrained rage. 

Moments later, he smelt it, the scent of Shizuka's blood blooming in the air. Kuran had made his move. Zero dragged Ichiru past the shell-shocked Aidou and kicked the door wide open. The blond did not show any reaction to indicate that he saw the both of them. It was an enactment, whatever it was- they were experiencing the events from Aidou's point of view.

Ichiru had lunged forward to stop Kuran from sinking his fangs into Shizuka, knocking Zero out of the way. The dark haired pureblood said something to Shizuka, making her smile bitterly. He could not make out her reply, watching in defeat as his twin tried to pry Kuran off Shizuka, but his hands passed right through the pureblood prince. "Make him stop, Zero!" Ichiru screamed at him. “You can make him stop, call him off- he listens to you!”

"Stop it!" he roared back at Ichiru. "None of this is real!"

Failing to detach Kuran off, Ichiru tried to get a hold of Shizuka instead. He growled in frustration as his hands passed right through her again and again. Ichiru’s silver hair came out loose from the leather chords and the metal bell was long lost in his frenzy. Ichiru turned to him, begging him to do something but he shook his head in resignation. What had happened, happened. There's nothing more we could do, Ichiru. Zero saw the glint of Kuran's fangs as he sunk them into Shizuka's neck.

Unexpectedly, Ichiru roared, sprinted to his direction and punched him squarely in the gut. He doubled over, grunting out in pain. His twin was too strong for a human, an inevitable effect from frequently sipping on Shizuka's blood- he suspected.

Ichiru elbowed him at the base of his spine, sending him crashing down on the floor. "I can’t touch her but why the hell can I touch you?" he hissed.

Someone yanked his brother away from him and he heard Ichiru curse as he staggered a few steps backwards. It was the blonde vampire, breathing raggedly and scrunching his brows in pain as he rasped out angrily. "Get the hell out!"

Ichiru bursted out laughing, combing his fingers through his loose hair before clamping another one hand on Zero's left shoulder, pulling him to move away from the snarling Aidou. They were back in the stark white, freezing space again but this time there was a seven foot tall, black steel door at the back of the room. Ice crystals were rapidly encrusting the surroundings. Some were creeping up his legs- he stomped them off. 

"I have a hunch it was the filthy noble's brain we're breaching all along and what a twisted trip it was," Ichiru piped. "Oh well, since I'm permanently stuck with you- come, time to go, Zero," he added and kicked the door open. The sound of crashing metal reverberated throughout the room, making some icicles drop down from the already frozen ceiling. Aidou was advancing closer and closer to them, freezing everything in his path.

The furious blonde was approaching fast and pinnacles of ice sprung like giant thorns behind him. There was nothing beyond that door because they were standing at the edge off an endless void. Ichiru snickered at the sight and kissed him swiftly on the cheek. In turn, he glared at his bipolar twin brother. One minute Ichiru was fine, the next minute he was angry and after that he was back to his infuriatingly annoying self- how adorable. However, there was nothing cuter than facing the possibility of getting speared by the ice princess.

"Get out!" bellowed Aidou, erecting a huge wall of ice behind the two of them, knocking them off balanced, causing them to free-fall into the bottomless depth. Ichiru's ominous laugh echoed in the nothingness.

0000000000

"Why did you do all this?" she asked him.

"You might want to be specific with that question," Takamiya smirked, arching a dark reddish brown eyebrow while leaning against the door panelling. He looked like a pervert. "Like try to narrow it down a bit," he smiled.

"Why did you set us up? You said you knew it was Tomohisa who took Zero away,"

"Corrections, milady, I didn't set anybody up. I said I had a hunch that Tomohisa had something to do with Zero's AWOL. I didn't say he took him," he answered, lazily. "There, you got my answer. Now it's my turn.”

"No I did not. What about the picture Kaname found? I want to know why you tried to hide the book too. Care to explain?"

"The picture is nothing significant," he avoided her eyes. “I did not hide the damn book. I helped you find it.”

"Nothing significant? Obviously you don't know my brother well. It takes a lot to rile him up like that so that picture is significant."

"I have to tell you that it takes a lot to make me uncomfortable. Obviously don't know me too well to know that I'm easily pissed if somebody starts to nag," he glared at her. "Trust me, you don't wanna know."

"I can't wholly trust you after that foolhardy feat at that house," she mumbled loud enough for Takamiya to hear. She studied the hunter and let out a defeated huff, "Fine, let's start with Tomohisa. Who is he?"

"As he said before- our former teacher.”

"Former? Isn't he like Yagari-sensei? "

"Yes, Yagari taught us combat skills while Tomohisa used to teach us the soft skills; charms, spells and etcetera intermittently. He's an active duty hunter like Yagari so naturally they cover each other's teaching absences. However, some things happened and we have to stop training under him."

"Things like the photograph, you mean?"

Takamiya froze and narrowed his eyes, "Something like that- and I rather not talk about it. The point is, he has to stay away from Zero."

"The point is, I want to know what happened. If you suspect Tomohisa has a hand in this mess, I need to know everything about him or I'll force it out of you."

"You're so stubborn." he complained. Yuuki shot a small, evil smile back at him.

0000000000

The first thing he saw when he blinked his grainy eyes open was a mass of hair- soft golden strands of hair were poking into his eyeballs so he jerked his face away. His cheek came into contact with an expanse of smooth, sweat sheeted pale skin. He was lying on top of something pleasantly warm and supple, breathing hard like a runaway freight train, his heart was pounding like a jackhammer. His pleasantly giddy brain commanded his limbs to move but the throbbing, prickling sensation zinging in his veins made the attempt sluggish and uncoordinated. 

Zero yanked his fingers out of the mop of blonde and held his weight up on his elbows. A pair of half-lidded, glazy blue eyes shocked him. As he sat up immediately realising that he had another painful _problem_ down yonder and turned away. What the hell happened? Where's Ichiru? What the heck had happened! Think of ugly things, Zero. Think of Yagari's hairy naked butt. Yes, that one. Focus!

He heard the other vampire groan, grew silent and cussed under his breath. Zero remembered the last sequence of events and froze in mortification. He had leeched on the vile blonde princess's neck, guzzled blood like a glutton, got better and apparently his vampire hormones enjoyed it too much. That explains his embarrassing boner. He couldn’t even remember the last time he ever got one. Being a blood-craze-suppressing, ex-human hunter slaughtering Level-Es on a daily basis made him too preoccupied. He was stressfully busy!

Zero could feel his damaged tissues repairing and regenerating. Well done, Zero- you’ve added a Level-B to your bloody conquest list. You powered up again. He scoffed in his mind. There was a nagging feeling at the recess of his consciousness that the twisted Kuran Kaname would not be all too pleased if he learned about it. Why was he bothered about how that demon would think? That thought puzzled him for a while. Zero stood up to check the parameters. Gouda was still there, blank and unresponsive under Aidou’s influence. It was dark outside. 

A volley of giggles echoed in the warehouse. Aidou had curled himself into a ball on the floor, chortling like a maniac. Zero double checked himself before sauntering over towards the blonde. Aidou was still lost in his mirth when he got there, lying on his side, one arm hugging his knees while the other clamped over the left side of his neck. Zero squinted his eyes when he saw suspiciously wet trails on the noble's cheek. You gotta be kidding me. Crybabies always made him weak. Take Yuuki for example. 

"Since you're so happy, princess, get up already," he said, not ready to know why the blonde’s tears were for. Maybe it was from laughing too hard, or perhaps he was hurt. Zero figured verbally injected poison was best suited to cure Aidou's current malady, whatever it was. Aidou was a Level-B vampire, a little blood loss would not be enough to kill him. But apparently, drinking blood must have brought some other undesired physical effects. The vampire hormones were just too happy to get stimulated by the bloodied bonding. "Get up, princess, unless, you're standing somewhere else that you don't want me to know about," he added evilly.

The crazed fit of giggles stopped and Aidou grabbed the tattered fabric of Zero's pants and pulled himself to sit up. "Oh shut up Kiryuu! I was well aware of your _attention_ poking at me right before you scooted away. What did I do to deserve that kind of treatment after all you've taken from me, you cold bastard?" Aidou pouted and grabbed Zero's legs in a melodramatic hug, and automatically, Zero kicked the snickering vampire off him.

"Owww!" the blond protested and continued to pout.

"You're a pervert," Zero helpfully informed the blonde, pissed. 

However, Zero’s death glare did not affect Aidou. "Aw, don’t be embarrassed. It's nature- a normal bodily reaction, Kiryuu. In fact, since I drank yours and you drank mine, in standard vampire terms, we are officially dating now, therefore you're qualified for a spot in my yet-to-be-established harem," the blond teased, pretending not to see Zero’s shaking, tightly balled up fists. Aidou then ignored the vampire hunter, he stood up to get the hidden haversack behind the old rusty drums.

"I'd rather die," Zero grumbled as he rubbed his temples, trying to forget Aidou's absurd claims.

Much to his irritation, the blonde was still ignoring him, concentrating on rummaging through the canvas. Finally finding a familiar looking white container, and poured some of the contents into his mouth. Odd, Tomohisa was right. Kurohashi packed more than necessary. Zero raised his eyebrows in question as Aidou swallowed the pill dry before lowering them down, forming a frown due to Aidou’s unhesitant decision to consume the stuff. Wasn’t he afraid if those pills were laced with harmful stuffs for example- poison? Although Zero recognized the chalky scent blood tablets of blood tablets anywhere, Aidou’s reckless behavious irked him.

As if Aidou had sensed Zero’s disapproval, he sighed as he chucked the bottle into the haversack. "Don't worry, we wouldn't get anywhere near second base because we would be as good as dead as soon as Kaname-sama finds out," the blond murmured as he spread the yellowing paper on a flat surface. 

"Really, and why would that be?" Zero asked for the sake of being obnoxious, careful not to crowd Aidou’s space, studying the blotched, scraggy markings on the topography. The slaughterhouse was indicated by a hasty circle and a messy handwriting marked it as "Midori". There was a large red cross in the north eastern direction and judging from the tight contour lines, they had to march straight into the mountainous part of the area. He studied the scales and made a rough estimation- they would reach the indicated area in about ten hours on foot if nothing like drug spiked Es, a shady brown haired noble or Tomohisa himself did not get in their way.

"I think you know why." Scowling, while folding the map back and tucking it into the bag, Aidou answered while not looking at him at all. Aidou had a strange look on his face, he was about to zip the haversack back up when Zero grabbed his hand, earning a scornful glare from the blonde.

"No, I’m afraid I don't.” Zero stood toe to toe with Aidou, matching his glare. 

"Look here Kiryuu Zero, do you need to hear it out of my mouth? Can you be a little more sensitive about how I feel about my revered pureblood favouring… no, consenting you, a lowly Level-D, a hunter, to sample his sacred blood, while I, this loyal follower of his had never even dreamed of ever spilling it?"

"Yeah, I know you're in love with him, so help me because unfortunately, it did happen but it’s the ' _being killed if he finds out'_ part I don’t understand.”

There was a pregnant pause as Aidou stared at him in disbelief before opening his mouth. “You really don’t know, do you?”

“No.”

“Didn't it ever occur to you why exactly Kuran-sama did _it_?"

_It_? Zero understood exactly what Aidou meant. The pureblood letting him sink his lowly fangs into the godly neck and sucked the holy life source into his stinking guts. "To get me off Yuuki’s case and turn me into his killer puppet," he repeated the practiced mantra he usually used to brainwash himself. That Kuran Kaname was nothing but a twisted, manipulative evil fiend. No vampire was charitable enough to invest their sacred blood, breaking taboo just to save a measly ex-human hunter- the sane, reputable ones at least. 

"Well, although it seemed so but has it ever crossed your mind that he could have ordered myself, Kain or Ichijo to donate some of our blood to sustain you just enough, and then commanded you to be his killer puppet as you decorously implied instead? He is a pureblood and believe me even you could do very little to defy him," said Aidou scathingly as he dropped the haversack back onto the drum. He then grabbed Zero by the back of his head and hissed into his face. "Tell me Kiryuu Zero, how did it feel when I drank your blood? How was it when you sucked your fill from me?"

Zero was rendered speechless. He was about to lash out at Aidou but the vampire gripped his hair roughly and brought their faces even close together, cutting him off prematurely. "How do you feel now, after having my blood? Did it feel as good as it did drinking from Kaname-sama?"

Aidou's words hit him like a ton of rocks. He felt it, the subtle change in his being as the result of his desperate thirst. It was different when it was with the pureblood because it was one-sided. But in this case, the exchange was complete and suddenly he was afraid of the consequences. Aidou's outburst was a classic pattern of something that he dreaded the most- envy. Aidou was jealous? Unbelievable. Zero still hated the infuriating blonde except he realised that the sentiment had been watered down a bit. And that, alarmed him- greatly. 

“Does it matter? We have no time for petty arguments, senpai.” Zero slapped Aidou’s hand away and grabbed the haversack to examine the contents. He chose not to entertain Aidou’s questions because he didn’t have the answers at the moment. Aidou was still glowering at him but he ignored everything and focused on the bag. There was indeed a lot in it. Bottles of blood tablets, a container that suspiciously looked like Tomohisa's alleged drug, and two sets of plain, dark green attire which looks like some sort of thick work garments. Aidou grabbed the bag away from him, zipped it up again and slung it over his shoulder.

"Let's just move," said Aidou tersely as he elbowed his way past Zero and disappeared through the main door.

000000000

She could not possibly believe the details of Zero's hidden past- Zero, Ichiru and Tomohisa tangled history was nothing like she had expected. She had abused a bit of her recently mastered persuasive ability and made Takamiya Kaito talk. Cracking the car's windows into tiny spidery fissures with her aura and shredding the leather upholstery into tiny ribbons with her sharp claws every time he tried to dodge around or fib was proven to be sufficient to make the hunter answer all of her curiosities. Kaname could take out some of the money in her account to repair the damages because currently, Takamiya was sitting slightly too stiffly in his seat and it pleased her.

"So Tomohisa Atsushi is actually Zero's biological uncle?" she reiterated. 

"Corrections- rumoured to be Zero's biological uncle," Takamiya corrected. "At least that was what my father had told me. Zero's grandfather had a fling with the Tomohisa matriarch and the rest is history. Then the Tomohisas were decorated hunters too but they died one by one in the line of duty. Tomohisa Ashushi was very close to Zero's father, his rumoured half-brother up to the time of his and his wife's untimely demise."

"That explains the uncanny resemblance.”

"Sensei had a hard childhood growing up with the Tomohisas. The only thing he inherited from his mother was his amber coloured eyes. Basically, he screamed Kiryuu from head to toe- such a scandal. Tomohisa Atsushi might be a little twisted but he is a genius in his own right.”

"Keeping a picture of Zero gagged and chained is not just a little twisted," she glowered. "I don't need to see it to tell he was really twisted. To think I've had the barest flicker of respect because he was Zero's master." Yuuki clenched her jaw tight. "Why did he hurt Zero?"

"I can't answer that," Takamiya said, shaking his head. "Maybe Zero can but I can't possibly know why. Zero didn’t exactly open up to me. I found out because I patched him up too often and I confronted him. He begged me not to tell.”

"Hunters are experts in hunting down to the most dangerous vampires but nobody knows about this?"

"Zero kept it from his parents, afraid that Tomohisa-sensei would turn to Ichiru. Since he has a messiah complex, he needed to save everybody. However, I suspect Ichiru knows."

"How about you? How precisely did you know about that horrible picture?”

"Because I was the one who took it." the redheaded hunter smiled bitterly. “I was young and ambitious. Tomohisa physically abused me too but not to the extent of what he did to Zero. We were hunter trainees learning combat- explaining injuries wasn’t hard. He made me take the picture or else he’ll punish Zero in my place for disobeying orders.”

Yuuki stared at him hard and she was beyond upset. Tears were threatening to spill out of her eyes but she held it back with all of her might. "You kept quiet after so long?"

"I did. We weren't really on good terms back then so I chose to be ignorant. In the end, I anonymously reported Tomohisa and he was given a restraining order to stay away from Zero. He got away light because Zero wanted to retain anonymity, not willing to testify against Tomohisa because the monster was close to his father and Tomohisa, regretfully, is too great of an asset for the hunters to discard.”

“Alright. Why did you try to manipulate my brother then?”

“How would I know how Kuran will react in the first place? I knew Tomohisa kept more than that one picture. Kuran would have found something anyways. I did what I did to gauge his feelings towards Zero," he turned away from her. "I had a hunch Kuran would take the bait."

"What?" Takamiya's last statement puzzled her. Was he expecting Kaname to go and pursue Zero on his own? Why?

Takamiya smirked and stared at her before answering her, "I've observed some interesting patterns between those two. Kuran thinks Zero is his kill and vice versa. He won't like it if somebody else snatches his prey."

She could not contain her anger any longer so she spat at him, "You're thinking of using Kaname? How dare you! You.. you conniving..." she racked her seething brain for the right word but found none. "You could have just told us. You could have told me! Kaname must have gone after Zero by himself- now I've lost both of them," she screamed at him and to her satisfaction, he paled considerably and shielded his face from her flaring temper.

The scent of Takamiya's blood brought her back to her senses. Horrified, she saw him hugging his cut forearms close to his chest. "Hey, watch out for the fragile human," he complained mockingly. "Your tantrum can accidentally reduce me to a meatloaf."

She regretted her outburst, reached out to take a look at the hunter's injuries but he stopped her, "Really, I'm fine. Just look away, please. Your eyes are unsettling my nerves."

Yuuki wanted to give him a piece of her mind for being a manipulating, prejudicial, stubbornly rude fool but she finally understood his apprehension when she caught a glimpse of her own reflection in the cracked window behind him. She was instantly reminded of how far she and Zero's world were divided, of why the redhead orchestrated the elaborate meeting with Tomohisa, and of why Takamiya simply could not trust her. Her eyes were glowing red.

0000000000

"March on faster, will you?!" He hollered at the one trekking in front of him in the pitch-black moonless night. The vampire's pale, luminous skin was a stark contrast against the dark forest floor. Aidou’s light blonde hair was plastered to his skull because of the pouring rain. Zero was sure he was no less different with his very own light colourings. If he had to go on stealth hunting missions, dark clothing, a black fleece hat and sometimes a face mask were necessary. Presently, his bare, rain slicked torso must be gleaming like a beacon. The reeking vampire gunk they had been rolling in before had been washed off completely. Zero had been pushing Aidou to go as fast as they could for the last few hours because the rainwater would wash away their trail in the alpine forest. There was not much undergrowth so they had minimal visual cover. Kurohashi, Tomohisa and possibly another hoard of those drug-spiked level-Es were still at large.

About a quarter an hour before, Aidou declared that they should find shelter to rest and Zero, being his cynical, foolish self, had contested the blonde’s idea- saying that it was impossible because they were not familiar with the terrain. Attempting to find a shelter would be like looking for a black cat in a coal cellar. As of now, Aidou claimed that he had proved him wrong because allegedly,he had found them a cave that they could take shelter in. How Aidou knew where the cave was? Zero had no clue. The noble vampire said he had simply used his senses- must be a vampire thing. Too tired to argue, Zero agreed to let Aidou lead but if Aidou was wrong, Aidou would have to do whatever he says for the rest of the trek. 

“Are we there yet?” Zero asked just for the sake of being annoying. He had a feeling that they were walking into a dead end. 

"Almost," Aidou replied dryly, pushing wet locks of hair out of his face. His torn and tattered shirt clung to his lean body. Aidou walked a bit further and stopped when he reached the base of a cliff, a near-vertical, approximately fifteen-foot high rock cliff. “Wait there while I go up first,” the blonde ordered. Zero could see the ripple of the Aidou’s muscles as he sprang up to the top of boulders and then peered down at him. “Climb up if you can’t leap.” Zero did not miss the challenge in Aidou’s tone. 

The black jagged rocks were covered by thick, slippery green moss. Show off. Sure, he would enjoy breaking some bones in case he slipped and fell. Zero sighed, broke into a short run and bounded up, landing beside the blonde. His limp, wet golden strands of hair made him look like a cold lost Shiatsu. "Quit this _'waiting up for Kiryuu and see if Kiryuu can do it_ ’ things. Are you afraid you'll miss the moment I land flat on my face?" he grumbled.

“What a preposterous claim, you wound me.”

“Right...”

“Alright, fine- I wanted to see how much you’ve powered up since you ingested my blood.”

“See, telling the truth is not that hard, isn’t it?”

“I want to learn your limit- for science! Besides, you don’t look so well.”

“Why you…”

"We’ve moved for more than four hours, stupid. I can tell if somebody is about to die," Aidou punched him not too gently on the arm, beckoning him to follow. He led them to a reasonably dry crag under a rocky outcropping, hidden by some tree saplings and vines. It was rather small and they have to stoop low and stick a bit too close together. 

Aidou plopped himself down, hugged the haversack close and pulled him down by his belt loop. It was a slightly too friendly gesture in his opinion but he dismissed it. Aidou groaned, closed his eyes and slumped over the bag- mumbling nonsense under his breath. He loathed being in such close quarters with the Level-B especially without exchanging their customary glares and hostilities.

The soles of their feet were covered with cuts from walking barefoot in the cold, slippery darkness does come with unsuspected hazards. They were gradually healing but inevitably, the scent of Aidou's blood unsettled him. Be that as it may, the taste of it still lingered in his mouth and although he would rather die than say it out loud, it was not in any way, unpleasant. 

Moreover, it made him feel spoiled because the only vampire blood references he had were the both the pure blooded Kurans and maybe his equally 'pureblood-vampire-named-Shizuka’s-blood-saturated’, but sorely missed although was quite evil, late twin brother. Then immediately, he felt the urge to hurl because he realized although he had taken from them because he had to, he could catalogue the differences between them quite well. Why was he feeling a twinge of guilty then? Zero glanced at Aidou, convincing himself that he survived because Aidou consensually let him bite his neck. He consequently concluded that the Level-B tasted milder compared to the purebloods. Instantly he reeled, shocking himself. Bravo, you're such a whore, he applauded himself sardonically. Why not apply for a license and declare himself as a high-class-vampire-blood sommelier and publish a guidebook. 

Aidou stirred beside him. Slowly and reluctantly, the blonde noble vampire rummaged inside the waterproof haversack, found the bottle he was looking for, popped a few tablets into his mouth and threw the glass container at him.

“You’re thirsty?” asked Zero, half assessed. 

“Unfortunately, yes. Why?”

“Nothing- just asking.” 

“Really now… Are you offering?”

“No!”

“Tch… tease.” Aidou rolled his eyes at him. 

“Deal with it.”

“Oh, shush.”

Artificial blood pills had turned to be one of the staples in his diet lately but it does not mean it appeals to his palate. If he ever had the urge to chew on a blackboard chalk one day, he pretty much knows what to expect. "By the way, this is an impressive find,” said Zero, referring to the hidden enclave as he chewed on the chalky, bitter pills. “How did you manage, senpai? You don’t come across as an outdoorsy person to me.” Aidou snapped his head back up and snorted at him.

"Am I back to _senpai_ now? I thought you're sticking to calling me _princess_." Aidou quipped, picking at his tattered translucent silk shirt which clung to his skin. "I hate the outdoors but don't forget I'm by no means a human." Zero understood Aidou's meaning; a natural born vampire had sharper instincts compared to an ex-human vampire. Most probably he just had the feeling the natural shelter was there all along. 

"I see. Oh yeah, in response to your earlier question- I'll call you princess if you want me to," he teased.

"Stick to senpai."

"As you wish princess-senpai."

"Smartass...”

They spent the next few minutes staring at the rain. Dawn was breaking and they had used the dark as their cover as much as they could. Zero had been pushing himself even though he was growing weary of their trek and Aidou noticed. Zero examined the remnants of his worst injury, his hands- only to find that they were slightly sore but all in all, mostly healed. 

Out of the blue, Aidou hummed a hauntingly familiar tune. Zero scowled disbelievingly at the blonde. It was an old lullaby that Ichiru used to sing to him whenever the sickly boy was trying to calm him down. It reopened old wounds.

"I caught a glimpse of your memories," Aidou explained voluntarily, the suddenness brought Zero out of his initial descent into a bout of depression. Zero braced himself for a bout of teasing and leering but nothing came. Instead, he found those blue eyes grounding him with a steady gaze.

There was no other way around it, Aidou was ready to confront him. "What else did you see?" he asked, letting his voice take on a quiet note. 

"Hmm… just- stuff." Aidou tried to sound nonchalant but failed. "But when you had-."

"Had what?" Zero accidentally cut him off due to his growing anxiety. “Sorry, do go on.”

"When you had my blood- Why was Ichiru with you?" There was no malice in Aidou’s question, Zero thought, only plain curiosity.

"You saw him?" Zero just wanted to be sure.

Aidou looked away and nodded his head. "Uh-huh... He was quite a looker, wearing the Day Class uniform- unlike your eternally grumpy self.” Zero smiled wanly, touched by Aidou’s brave effort to lighten the mood with that offhanded insult

"Actually, I don't know why he was there," he answered him earnestly. Zero wondered if he should ask Aidou about Kuran and that crying baby leech in the garden but decided to save it for later. "So how does it work?" he asked Aidou instead.

"How does what work?"

Zero combed his fingers through his damp hair and turned his body to face Aidou. "The visions. The things we see when we- you know what. "

"Drink another’s blood? God, you're such a pansy prude," Aidou sighed and poked him in the ribs. Zero yelped and then quickly smacked Aidou’s offending hand in retaliation. 

Aidou grinned mischievously before answering, "I'm not really sure. But I think you'll get to see what you wanted to see in those visions. They are memories actually. At least as my father told me; he couldn’t hide anything from my mother after they bonded.”

"Then what did you wish to see when you bit me?" he asked Aidou. "Seriously, I'll hold my temper," he reassured him when he saw one of those golden eyebrows raised in a fine arch.

"So you are aware of your short fuse after all." Aidou said, hoping to deviate off topic, emitting a light chuckle as the final touch. 

“Senpai, please.” said Zero, suddenly serious. The silver haired hunter looked down for a moment, slowly exhaling a quiet breath he was holding before looking back at him again. “What exactly did you see?” he asked again. 

Caught off guard by Zero’s forlorn expression, Aidou brought his right hand up to support his chin, fingers covering the lower part of his face, and spoke as gently as he could. “I think I saw your deepest _concerns_ and yes, Ichiru was there too.” Zero stilled for a second, and then turned his head forward so he could stare beyond the enclave, making a small noise to tell Aidou to go on. 

Tentatively, Aidou reached out and placed his left hand on top of Zero’s tightly clasped ones. He felt Zero stiffen and then relaxing- his skin was cold, almost icy. He didn’t know why he touched him, it just felt like the right thing to do. Oddly, Zero did not reject him. “You know, he’s a feisty one, your brother. Tried to kick me out by choking me with his bare hands of all things.” Aidou saw the corners of Zero’s lips moving a few millimeters upwards, resembling a fond smile. He felt his heart warming up a little and decided he liked to see more of it. 

“I didn't exactly wish to see them, your secrets, but since I hated your guts back then- instinctively I must have sought them out. I’m sorry.”

Zero was taken aback by Aidou’s apology mainly because he didn’t need it, especially from the normally frivolous blonde. He eyed Aidou’s smooth, unblemished hand that had settled on top of his and wondered how such a simple gesture calmed him. He trained for combat ever since he was young, he was taught to be in control at all times and the last person he allowed to touch him that gently was his twin. After the grand betrayal, he closed himself completely. 

Although he didn’t detest Aidou for trying, he disliked sympathy and he liked Aidou’s brat-behaviour rather than the awkward gentleness he was getting, so he decided to tease his way out of it. "Hated my guts .." he repeated Aidou's words, in mock wonder. "What's with the past tense? Here I am thinking that I’m impossible to be loved.” He was a big boy now, they have kissed, sort of and Aidou even declared that they’re dating now. A dose of petulance sprinkled with a jab at their rather obvious sexual tension wouldn’t hurt anyone. 

Zero was amazed because Aidou was lost for words and blushed. What the hell is up with him? He wondered. Should he continue flustering the noble? He rather not follow up with a stinging comment unless he wants a ballistic blond chewing on his hide so he sucked it all in and sighed. "Forget it, I shouldn’t have said that. So I will try this again, what exactly have you seen, princess?"

The nickname drew out the desired effect because Aidou rolled his eyes in annoyance and blurted. "That night with the fireworks with Ichiru, a dungeon that comes with wet disgusting tongue action, Shizuka in your house, a cookie stuffing episode in a kitchen and that moment you princess-carried Ichiru." Aidou spewed it all out in one breath and waited for his reaction.

"Oh." that was all he managed to say and Aidou blinked doubtfully at him. His brain couldn’t figure out how he should react. Aidou had caught a glimpse of his near chronic twin-complex, his Tomohisa problem, as well as his bizarre " _Kuran Kaname Crisis_ ''. He deduced that Aidou's earlier attempts of evasion were either because he pitied him or, he was planning to keep tabs on him, storing the juicy bits in his ' _Kiryuu Blackmail_ ' folder- if it existed. He settled on the latter assumption. 

"You're not going to kill me?" Aidou squeaked. The thought did cross his mind but to his confusion, he felt that he could learn to trust the vampire. He glanced over to Aidou, smiled and laughed quietly.

Aidou’s jaw dropped in disbelief, "Oh no, that does it, that ability to laugh cuts it. You're not Kiryuu, you imposter!"

Aidou's reaction made him burst out laughing even harder and he spluttered for air. "Your blonde airhead act can’t fool me. Nevertheless, nice try." Zero said, watching the blue eyes narrow down to slits. "I guess you caught a peek of the messed up Zero, proof that I was not made of metal. I can’t do anything now that you know, but I’d appreciate it if you keep them to yourself."

"Really…? You wouldn’t kill me? Awesome. You know I’ll accept you no matter what. I've even stuck my neck out for you- literally. ” Aidou took a shot at him, in turn, Zero stared at him in disbelief. “Come on, I hate you less now. I still do, worry not- just a wee bit less than usual. So, may I call you Zero then?” Zero goggled at him in disbelief. 

“Alright, silence means consent, good progress. In turn, I now permit you to address me as Hanabusa.”

"Can you not? Stop fooling around. FYI, I let you have mine first, dumbo. Hey, you’re acting weird and it’s kinda creepy, you sure blood loss doesn’t cause brain damage?” Despite his cynical tone, Zero was wearing that small, half-smile again. 

“Aww, but you’re fun to rile and your angry face is adorable. Besides, there’s nothing else to do- this dingy rabbit hole is seriously cramping my style.” Aidou laughed. 

Zero’s smile widened a bit, just enough for Aidou to see his sharp incisors. “Just shut up, you vile, little imp! What style? You have none in the first place.” It looked like Zero the snippy asshole-ness was gradually making a comeback so Aidou wanted to push a bit more just to see if he could incite more than a hesitant smile. 

“Zero, Zero… Need I remind you that we're technically dating now? We have successfully passed the first base so please treat me a little nicer because otherwise, I will never let you hit the home run with me," he snickered, enjoying watching Zero’s face turn green. The vampire hunter had not expected Aidou to be an old fashioned prig, using the granny-styled metaphor of the courting-dating thing. There goes another misconception of Aidou Hanabusa apart from he was not a real self-proclaimed genius but a real genius, not a real airheaded insensitive snoot but a real airheaded sensitive loon, and last but not least he is not necessarily a real hunter-hating-pureblood-worshipping-noble-class-bloodsucker but a real noble-class-willing potential blood bank-ally-in-training, probably. Because his brain was not really functioning at normal par since his system was tainted with Level-B haemoglobins. He was beginning to get comfortable enough to be able to put up with Aidou, which was somewhat alarming considering how much the blonde used to irritate him with his flamboyance and flirtatiousness. This version of a more capable, and level-headed Aidou was much more tolerable to him. However, he would never cease to enjoy placing the blonde on his _tease-grater_. 

“You wanted to go straight for the home run, huh? Not even considering sliding into second or third base? I was under the impression I have to get the roses, buy dinner, argue over movies and only then you’ll consider whether or not to run back home with me.”

"Don’t twist my words around you perverted, retarded, asshole!" the blonde turned red and whacked him viciously upside the back of the head. Twice. 

"Ouch, and you called me a pansy prude..." Zero protested under his breath while rubbing his mistreated head.

There was more awkward silence as they sat there, keeping on a lookout for threats. Aidou started to hum the lullaby again. Sighing, Zero buried his head between his drawn-up knees so that they covered both of his ears. It was easier to just tell Aidou to shut up but the masochist in him wanted to be reminded of how he failed and wronged Ichiru. Ichiru was pure in the beginning until his shortcomings dyed his soul blacker than coals. He had failed to see those subtle changes during those years- purposely shutting off his ears as Ichiru's codependency morphed from a sign of love, adoration and devotion to envy, malice and vengeance. He placed the blame on himself for being away most of the time because of his gruelling training sessions and not able to be there for his twin, for being a weak coward who was unable to fully shelter Ichiru away from Tomohisa's oppression. The memory of Tomohisa's systematic torture over those dark years made him angry all over again.

"Senpai, stop singing that, please.” he whispered, almost too quietly, raising his head. 

Aidou did as he was asked and smiled bitterly, "It has such a nice melody, sorry." The blond reached out his right hand to touch his arm but stopped midway before pulling it back. "You know, as cliché as this may sound, I'll listen if you need to talk." Aidou appeared genuine. "I don't know what really happened in your past but from the stuff I saw, the things that _the bastard_ had said and what he did, I am beginning to understand why you're angry at the world- you have a lot on your plate. I wouldn’t be able to fully understand but I'll listen." 

"Tch, now you sound like a real princess... I should get you a tiara studded with Tomohisa's teeth once I get to him," he chuckled. Aidou shot him an incredulous look. It was his turn to whack the blond's creased, worried forehead.Aidou yelped out his protest and then rubbed his abused head. 

“Hey, be nice to your princess!”

“You’re not a real princess.”

“But I _am_ yours!” Aidou declared, instantaneously, his skin paled to a shade lighter. If Zero didn’t have an iron-clad control over his facial muscles, he would have gaped like a fish. “Only technically- because we accidentally consented in a bloody trade off- damn blood bond.”

Zero chuckled dryly. “I’m surprised you’re quite invested in this blood bond thing.”

“I may feel it more than you do because I was born a vampire. It’s hard to explain but it’s like I cannot help but care and I want to do nice things for you so you would smile at me sort of shitty feeling- it’s weird.” he explained, Aidou never planned to be that honest. 

“I think I need an adult.” Zero deadpanned. 

“Would you please be serious for a moment- I was baring my heart, dammit! Take some responsibility for it because after all, we got into this mess because we stupidly were too soft and ended up saving each other’s asses.” The silvered haired vampire smirked upon Aidou’s petulant-child rant- the blonde pouted.

“Okay, alright, princess- I was pulling your leg there.”

“Yes, you were, so be warned Kiryuu Zero, I’ll **break** your leg for real if you dare to cross me again!” Aidou didn’t mean to shout but his voice came out a bit too loud- too sharp. To his shock, Zero’s breath hitched and he sank against the cave wall, arms wrapped around his own trembling torso- there was a wild look in his eyes. Aidou felt a painful, constricting sensation squeezing around his heart- slivers of fear corroding his mind. It wasn’t his- none of it was. What is the world…? Aidou scooted closer to Zero, meaning to try placating the hunter but the Zero emitted a noise similar to a whimper. “Oh no, Zero, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean-“ He softened his voice, reaching out with his hand.

Zero stopped him, his breath shallow. “Don’t come closer, it’s fine. I’ll be fine. Sorry, I shouldn’t have upset you, my fault. Give me a minute.”

“No, Zero… It was my fault. Why are you apologising?”

“A minute, please.”

They ended up in silence for more than a minute. Zero had stopped trembling, his arms now hung loose at his sides, sitting with legs stretched out in front of him. Aidou had mimicked Zero’s posture but he had his right hand clutching the fabric of his tattered shirt right above his heart. He had hung his head down, eyes shadowed by his damp bangs. 

“Hey…” Zero called out to his companion. “I’m sorry if I startled you.” Much to his horror, he heard Aidou choke back an sob. “Hey, why are you crying?”

“I’m sorry,” Aidou croaked. Unable to stand people crying is Zero’s Achilles heel. He reached out and placed his hand on top of Aidou’s crown, hoping to console him. It used to work on Ichiru. The sensation of Aidou’s guilt and worry had been washing over him seconds after he had his episode- he felt them. So strongly, it distracted him from his own fucked-up misery, so in a sense, he was pulled out of his downward spiral because he was worried for the blonde. He had stayed still, waiting for Aidou to calm down but it was taking too long- he figured it was time to talk. 

“Please don’t cry.” But Aidou let out another sob- Zero sighed. “I know it’s going to be weird but I’m going to hug you. So do not, by any means, punch, claw or strangle me.”

  
There were no comebacks from Aidou so Zero took it as a go. Aidou was surprisingly pliant as Zero repositioned their bodies so that Aidou ended up straddling his lap, he wound his arms around the smaller body, rested his head against the blonde’s chest. He found comfort listening to Aidou’s rapidly thumping heart. 

“You’re right, this is kinda weird,” Aidou finally said. Zero said nothing back, closing his eyes as he felt arms encircling and cradling his head, a cheek pressing into his hair. “Just so you know, this never happened.” added the blonde. 

Zero hummed in agreement.

There was no warmth emitted from their bodies. Cold- both of them, like corpses- not human. His heart broke a little and it seemed like Aidou felt it because he felt cold lips pressed against the top of his head. The bond between them was strange to him. They went sworn enemies to their current state in just a few hours. In one hand, it scared him shitless but in another hand, it was nice not to be alone. 

“Senpai.”

“Hmm?”

“Does your offer still stand? That you’ll listen if I want to talk?”

“Yes, of course I’ll listen.”

Zero hugged the blonde a bit tighter. "I think you might have the right idea of what _he_ did to me in the past," he started. He cannot see Aidou’s face but he felt him nodding. “He is my half-uncle, my grandfather’s bastard child. He used to teach me when I was a boy, just Kaito and I. My brother was too sickly so he was told to stay at home.”

Aidou didn’t say anything, his fingertips moving in small soothing circles along his neck, encouraging him to go on. “He was good at giving lessons initially but about a year later, he changed. I angered him for no reason and one day he started to systematically hurt and abuse me in all ways possible. Nobody knew because he always left marks only in places that can be concealed by clothing.” The blonde stilled his fingers. Zero felt him shudder and wet droplets landed on his bare shoulder. 

“I’m still listening…” he assured Zero, still trying to bite back his tears. 

Zero turned his head slowly, enforcing his heart with steel barricades once more, to gaze up meeting the blonde’s tear streaked face. “That monster told me that if I fight him, he will replace me with Ichiru. He broke my left tibia, incapacitated me, the pain too great and I wished I blacked black out but I didn’t. He broke my leg right before he _took away_ my innocence. I couldn’t even discern what hurt more.” Aidou was visibly trying to contain the hurt he was feeling through their bond, biting down his lower lip, accidentally puncturing it, but the sobs broke through, uncontrollable tears wetting Zero’s skin. Why would he even care? Zero ached. 

He tried his best to calm Aidou down. Rubbing reassuring circles on his companion’s back. He had long run out of tears to shed because the suffering brought by Tomohisa was incomparable to the anguish he felt losing his family, specifically his brother. Zero hummed Ichiru’s favourite lullaby and it worked. Breath hitching, the blonde looked straight questioningly at him, concern rolling out in waves- eyes swollen, his lip bleeding. 

Zero smiled at Aidou, a bitter one, but a smile nonetheless, reached up to bring Aidou’s head down to his. Closing his eyes, he touched his lips to Aidou’s pale, eternally cold ones- kissing him chastely. He tasted salt and iron. When Zero broke away, Aidou had his hands braced against his chest, studying him with gentle eyes, as if to commit his face into memories. Zero swallowed a lump in his throat. 

“I’m thanking you for your tears because I ran out of them a long time ago. But senpai, if you think I'd break once I see him again- then you're wrong. He may have hurt me in unimaginable ways but, the emotional scars he made Ichiru bear as he uses him to get to me are the very reason that I'm going to castrate him and hang his balls above the association's gates."

“I knew you were one kinky sonofabitch,” his blonde companion remarked. Completely shattering the moment.

Zero chuckled mirthlessly. 

0000000000

Abandoned buildings, rusty heaps of metal and garbage were not uncommon in an old industrial yard and there was nothing unusual about the surroundings except for the location itself. He had been trailing the suspicious silver haired hunter for hours, waiting outside what appears to be a hunter association's outpost as the man went inside. Or should he label it as a safe house, perhaps a holding facility because the doors and windows were rigged with anti-vampire charms. 

At first, he assumed that it was abandoned because there were no signs of other hunters at the premise and neither did he sense any signs of life around it. There was nothing atypical about the old brick building but the defence mechanisms were sufficient to keep any average vampire from breaching in. However, there was nothing average about him, an extremely curious, pure blooded vampire who was running out of patience.

Tomohisa had driven his truck right into the garage. Kaname followed in stealthily, his bat form gathered enabling him to materialise the shadows not long after Tomohisa entered the building- risky gamble considering he was in the hunters' territory.

Beyond the door was a long, dark passageway. Tomohisa's footsteps echoed off the concrete, unplastered wall. The footfalls ceased, there were rustles of heavy fabric followed by exactly six consecutive beeps of an electronic keypad. Impressive, the hunters had embraced modernity. He had been expecting thick, padlocked metal gates that required oversized iron keys strung together in a ring. His ears told him that judging from the pitch of the tones; the hunter had inputted a sequence of 6-4-3-6-7-4 and smiled secretly because his anal attention to detail had finally came in handy. He whipped out his phone and texted the sequence to Akatsuki and Ruka, instructing them to hold on to the code, just in case. He did not bother to tell the Level-Bs of his exact location because he had the hunch that the overly fanatical Aidou had sneakily planted a tracing bug in his device prior to handing it over to him. Akatsuki should know how to trace it.

Still cloaked by the shadows, he waited for Tomohisa to open the door and step inside. As soon as the hunter was out of sight, Kaname emerged out the shadows slipped inside before the heavy metal door closed, just in time to catch a sliver of light spilling out into the passageway. Now he knew which door to take. He smiled and resisted the urge to barrage in there and wring out the man's neck. Despite his cold and calculating persona, he discovered that the mask of impenetrable control was inapplicable when it concerned matters that were deemed personal to him. Currently, he decided that one, by merely keeping possession of a compromising photograph of Kiryuu and two, stealing a sword bearing the Aidou clan insignia with traces of one particular vampire hunter's blood on it equals to vandalizing his personal possession. Kiryuu Zero was his and only his alone to kill, he repeated to himself. 

Certain that Tomohisa was currently inside one of the rooms, he seized the opportunity to make a visual sweep of the place. The building resembles some sort of a holding facility with windowless walls. Several doors lined each side of the 15 meter long passage intermittently and every one of them was rigged with an electronic lock that glowed in the dim, greenish backlight. He stood by the door which Tomohisa had stepped into and trained his ears for any movements. There was none. He closed his eyes and tried to feel for Kiryuu but he got nothing. The silver haired ex-human was nowhere near him. Nevertheless, based on the faint tug that he felt in his heart as he tried to reach out to Kiryuu was enough to indicate that the boorish teen was very much still alive. On any other day, he hated the connection and furthermore, he abhorred the fact that he even felt something for the vampire hunter. Even more shocking, the concern for Aidou's well being did not once cross his mind. That should mean something, shouldn’t it?

Again, he weighed his options. First he could directly engage, and subdue Tomohisa, torture the information out of him while risking injuries in order to archive his objective. The katana soaked in Aidou and Kiriyu's blood Takamiya swiped from the mysterious hunter's house was enough to implicate the man with the disappearances but would he be able to take down the hunter. The human was middle aged and that speaks for itself, Tomohisa is a good enough hunter to not die young- he should be able to put up a good fight. However he could also accidentally kill the silver fox. Like he thought before- this was personal. 

His second option was to fall back and see how things develop and wait for the right moment to act. But he neither has limitless patience nor a passive backbencher’s attitude so the first option he had appealed more to him. He would confront the hunter. This hunter may be a potentially formidable opponent for most vampires however, he was an enraged pureblood, a scorned Level-A who would stop at nothing until he was satisfied. 

Kaname carefully accessed the heavy metal door revealing a room more or less similar to the one back at Tomohosa's house. Another morgue? It was larger, albeit poorly lit, the thick pungent smell of chlorine filled the space but there was no sign of the hunter. Staying in the shadows, he scoped the layout; two metal tables at the centre, aluminium storage lined the wall. He saw two separate double-doors standing on opposite walls at the back and he assumed Tomohisa must be behind one of those since he was nowhere to be found in the white tiled room. There was nothing of the ordinary but he felt a faint flickering presence. He reminded himself that hunters are very capable of cloaking their auras and Tomohisa could be anywhere watching his movements.

The flickering presence was from behind the door on the left so he went for it. Someone or something was alive and breathing but as he approached closer, he could tell that it was weak- Tomohisa’s aura was not weak. Whoever they were, they were not Tomohisa. Placing his right hand on the knob, he held his breath and opened. The room was a smaller but brightly lit. It looked like a medic bay or a small clinic. A heavy, moss green fabric curtained the space into two sections and whatever being he was sensing was somewhere behind it.

He heard it, the quiet but frantic heartbeat racing faster and faster as he stepped closer to the divider, determined to find out. Something is off about the creature because he could not precisely tell whether it was human or a vampire as it was giving out mixed signals. Could it be- an ex-human? His own heart skipped a beat. Whatever it was, whoever it was, he would take it down and capture it- he made his resolution.

Kaname did not get to make the first move because a long metal rod ripped through the thick fabric and stabbed into his upper chest, missing his heart by inches, not fatal but the pain temporarily paralyzed him. The creature had attacked him. He grabbed the sharpened end, yanked it out of his flesh and pulled it towards himself causing the assailant to pitch forward into the curtain, crashing down onto the floor with a screech. Blood poured out of his wound for a few seconds before his flesh resealed itself. The makeshift metal spear rolled away, in turn he braced himself for the next attack. From the amount of racket made, he was positive that Tomohisa should be heading towards his way. He would have to get out of there- fast.

Sensing his bubbling wrath, the assailant tried to free itself from the tangle of fabric, Kaname saw and grabbed an exposed ankle. He sent the creature crashing into a wall. The tiles cracked and some crumbled off, exposing the old masonry. Fueled by cold rage, he moved to secure the assailant, grabbing it by the neck and ripped off the thick fabric covering. To his surprise, he found himself staring into a pair of fierce, red tinted, lavender eyes partially covered by thick, unruly silver blood streaked mop of hair- courtesy of a deep gash on the forehead. A bold black tattoo was burning under his fingers and he could recognize those ridiculously loud ear piercings anywhere. 

“Kiryuu?” 

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> April 10th, 2020  
> Zero and Aidou were naughty, naughty boys. I didn’t mess up too bad, right?  
> The best of all... Ichi-chan is alive (๑>◡<๑)
> 
> This particular chapter was nightmare to edit actually. I reiterate, to edit. It’s un-beta-ed. I can’t reach my beloved beta. She’s oceans away.  
> I’m still reeling from my country’s movement control order news- it has been extended till end end of April is both a blessing and a curse. This virus kills. Oh yeah, two more weeks (in captivity) is doable, I guess. On the plus side, I’ll have more time to work on the fics. The bad thing is, I missed the sun. I swear I’ll end up paler than a cavefish. 
> 
> Thank you for reading ☆〜（ゝ。∂）  
> Bookmark if you don’t want to miss the next update.


	12. Chapter 12

He heard it, the quiet but frantic heartbeat racing faster and faster as he stepped closer to the divider, determined to find out. Something is off about the creature because he could not precisely tell whether it was human or a vampire as it was giving out mixed signals. Could it be- an ex-human? His own heart skipped a beat. Whatever it was, whoever it was, he would take it down and capture it- he made his resolution.

Kaname did not get to make the first move because a long metal rod ripped through the thick fabric and stabbed into his upper chest, missing his heart by inches, not fatal but the pain temporarily paralyzed him. The creature had attacked him. He grabbed the sharpened end, yanked it out of his flesh and pulled it towards himself causing the assailant to pitch forward into the curtain, crashing down onto the floor with a screech. Blood poured out of his wound for a few seconds before his flesh resealed itself. The makeshift metal spear rolled away, in turn he braced himself for the next attack. From the amount of racket made, he was positive that Tomohisa should be heading towards his way. He would have to get out of there- fast.

Sensing his bubbling wrath, the assailant tried to free itself from the tangle of fabric, Kaname saw and grabbed an exposed ankle. He sent the creature crashing into a wall. The tiles cracked and some crumbled off, exposing the old masonry. Fueled by cold rage, he moved to secure the assailant, grabbing it by the neck and ripped off the thick fabric covering. To his surprise, he found himself staring into a pair of fierce, red tinted, lavender eyes partially covered by thick, unruly silver blood streaked mop of hair- courtesy of a deep gash on the forehead. A bold black tattoo was burning under his fingers and he could recognize those ridiculously loud ear piercings anywhere. 

“Kiryuu?” 

The ex-human eyes widened in panic before they morphed into cesspools of hate. Undoubtedly, Kiryuu hated him from the bottom of his Level-D heart but there was something off about him. The scent of the blood spilling out of the seeping wound smells like Kiryuu but there was something else missing- the scent of his own blood. Instead, the red coagulating liquid was heavily tinged with a certain raving-mad female pureblood’s flowery scent. _That_ raving mad female, he had permanently dealt with. She deserved her fate just because she had wished to harm his precious Yuuki and for trying to snatch away his favourite _toy_ \- the biological double of this simpering creature. 

It puzzled him greatly because everything about the shirt clad vampire in his grasp matches the stoic, silver haired prefect from the pale skin, the piercing eyes, the horrendous tattoo, to the absurdly juvenile earrings, all except for the scent of his filthy D-rank blood. Who made him this way? However, time was running out because he could hear Tomohisa moving hurriedly towards the room.

The young vampire was clawing at his fingers uselessly, opening and closing his mouth, forcing his voice to come out in low rasps- the creature was trying to tell him something but the words are not coming out properly. Kaname was putting pressure on the right carotid artery with his thumb, reducing blood supplied to the brain. Eyes gradually losing focus, the silver haired vampire gave him an unexpected warning. "Put me down, now- he’s coming, hide!" A Level-D was telling a pure blooded vampire to hide from a crummy old hunter? That was a first.

"Hide...!" the ex-human repeated his request through gritted teeth, glaring at him, voice hoarse, dry as if it had not been used for a long time. This Kiryuu’s voice was identical to his older brother but the pitch was different. It was softer by a notch compared to the older brother’s deeper and steelier cadence. Even though his instincts told him that the Level-D in his grasp was indeed Kiryuu, but not exactly Kiryuu Zero. His mind however, begged to differ since the only other Kiryuu was human, dead, hence buried six-feet underground. Kiryuu Ichiru the human, died neither because of natural causes not disease but from a tragically unfortunate incident- from being sucked dry, consumed by his own twin. Kiryuu Ichiru could not possibly rise up from the dead, miraculously turned into a Level-D vampire, grew the exact same tattoo like his twin had on the left side of his neck and pierced five pieces of metal in his ear cartilage while composting in his coffin.

The amethyst eyes showed nothing but fury and it astonished him. What could possibly be more frightening than a pureblood vampire breathing down your neck? Apparently, to the silver haired supposed to be dead Kiryuu, it was Tomohisa Atsushi.

"Hide!" Now the Level-D was almost begging him. Trusting a cold-blooded double crossing spawn of the famous Kiryuu line might not be a wise idea, it could be a trap but he decided to play along. After all, he was the one who had killed his pure blooded mistress. Why not humor the little pest a bit? Maybe there was more to the story and he was determined to find out.

Kaname let the boy go, retreated into the shadows, stepping into a storage closet at the back of the room. He suppressed his presence, observing the silver haired vampire hide the bloodied, metal makeshift spear diagonally in between the mattress and the bed, strew heaps of books and paper over his crimson bloodstain on the floor, grabbed a chair and began to pummel it against the damaged wall, causing more tiles to crumble. The Level-D was covering the remnants of their encounter by staging an amok. It wouldn’t matter if Tomohisa saw his blood staining the floor, the hunter is human and human can’t differentiate scents.

He caught a glimpse of a livid Tomohisa as he bursted into the room. The hunter muttered something, moved his fingers in the air and immediately the tattoo on the Level-D's neck glowed. Kiryuu crashed onto the paper littered floor like a broken marionette. 

"Finally coming to your senses?" Tomohisa bent down to study the boy's cut forehead, "Though I wasn't expecting a mess. This is more of your brother’s style. I was wondering how long you can continue to lie down like an inanimate object, I was thinking of starting to let you get acquainted with my favourite bullwhip and force you to wake.”

“Go to hell you crazy old fuck!” Kiryuu growled before lashing out at the hunder, attempting to bite an arm. Tomohisa evaded and in turn hit the ex-human across the face.

“Ooh, you like to bite too. I will gag you too then, in case you'll try to bite off your own tongue later to take a coward’s way out- your Zero did that once but he never did it again because I convinced him I will start training you if he dies. You were weaker than him so I’d double my _efforts_.”

Kaname’s stomach lurched. The silver haired Level-D was indeed Kiryuu Ichiru. 

"Where's Zero?" Ichiru croaked painfully. A smile formed on Tomohisa's face. "Where's Zero?" Ichiru asked again. Kaname had the feeling that Ichiru was asking the question for his benefit. Ichiru was supposedly the cunning half of the Kiryuu pair- he was trying to get clues. Maybe the Level-D knew of his brother's disappearance. The older silver haired man squinted his amber eyes and laughed at the paralysed vampire at his feet.

"Where's _Zero_? Aren't you going to ask about yourself? How does it feel to be back from the dead? Hmm... Ichi-can?"

"This isn't hell?" the boy seethed. "Is Rido gone?"

Tomohisa squatted down and laughed even harder, "I see... You've finally regaining your senses. That means _that_ has happened."

Ichiru was not asking about Zero's disappearance. He was asking about Zero's whereabouts. If he does not know about Rido's by in his twin's hands, the boy's memory must have ended at the moment when his own twin took his life.

"Is Zero dead? No! I gave him my life, he can't be dead! Why am I here? What do you want from me?"

"Shhh... Ichi-chan. One at a time," the hunter chuckled. Kaname could see his manic eyes gleaming in excitement- like a man who had struck gold. "Zero's fine. I'm going to bring you to him later. If nothing goes wrong in the process. Enough about Zero. How about you? Feel anything different?"

There was a brief silence. Kaname watched Tomohisa touch the boy's pierced ears with the tips of his fingers, moving down to ghost over the black tattoo on the left side of the slender neck, and lastly he traced the full lips.

"Why do I have fangs?" Kiryuu asked like a curious child. "What did you do to me?"

Tomohisa smirked in satisfaction, "Because, my boy, apparently you're a D like Zero," Kaname could feel the glee in Tomohisa’s voice. "So because you are like Zero, being twins and all, I made you into his exact copy; cut your hair, tattooed that seal, pieced those seals on your ears- precisely like I did to Zero. You don't want to fall to Level-E, hmm?"

"Why?" there was no more confusion in Kiyuu’s tone. He was speaking between gritted teeth. "H- how did you turn me into a vampire? Shizuka-sama didn't! How?"

"Let me narrate the situation, dear boy. All hunter corpses come to me. I even autopsied your dear departed murdered parents, you know." Tomohisa leered. "Then one day, _you_ came to me. Of course you had been pronounced dead, a bite mark to the neck, a gaping wound on your side, stabbed, lifeless, useless- an empty shell of a human. Not exactly a hunter, but your heritage made you to be considered as a hunter. I stripped you, washed you and was about to cut you up with a scalpel. Routine, routine, routine... But guess what? You bled! I stopped. You're supposed to go onto full rigour mortis in twelve hours because you are human. But I got you precisely sixteen hours after your demise. Oh, you were dead. But you bleed. The cuts I made stay open but nothing rotted. How? There was no heartbeat- no nothing. You cadaver intrigued me.”

“Lies!”

“You are here, aren’t you? Why would I lie to my precious _nephew_? Shall I tell you more?” The hunter patted Ichiru on the cheek. 

“Tch… I wish we were never related, you cruel fiend!”

Tomohisa laughed. “You really do look like Zero, bristling like that. Speaking of Zero, he made you get a proper burial. Nobody else showed up, naturally- just him. It’s pathetically tragic how deep his love was for you despite all the shit you’ve dragged him through.”

“Come on, you did worse. You’ve wronged him too- it’s not a competition so get off my case.”

“True. We’ll discuss those another day. Shall I tell you what happened after your funeral?”

“I’m confident that you’ll tell me anyways so go ahead.”

“Where was I? Oh yes, I dug you out of your grave and of course reburied your empty coffin. Consequently, I kept you here. No initial changes but day by day, you showed signs of life- your heart started beating and those cuts I made, your antemortem injuries healed. How strange, I thought, did Hiou Shizuka turn you too? I suspected so. The greedy, greedy, greedy _kuruizaki hime_ bitch wants both of my boys," he explained in an irritating sing-song manner.

"Don't you ever degrade Shizuka-sama!"

Tomohisa slapped the boy across the face. The scent of blood bloomed in the air. The older hunter scoffed, "She did turn you Ichi-chan, however she sealed you as a human. Your transformation was a pain to keep up with, all that blood you need, those people and vampires I killed were all to sustain you. I even accelerated my research on a new drug because of you boys. I will eradicate the flaw in Level-D and Level-E vampires and make you both the strongest. But that's not the point, I don't know how she managed to do the sealing but it took you very long to come out of your coma," he spat. "You have me to thank for exhuming you out of that coffin and force-feed you or else you'll be waking up six-feet underground, as a rot covered skeleton clawing your way out.”

Tomohisa’s long winded speech shocked Kaname. Shizuka was indeed brilliant. The Kiryuu twins must be part of Shizuka's plan to seize control of the hunters. Perhaps a coincidental find she decided to exploit or perhaps she watched them long before that. Perhaps Shizuka has others working for her. There was no way of telling. Kaname was nevertheless impressed- a pair of identical twins, one a prominent hunter who will rise into power while another was presumed dead, hidden, nurtured under her wings and when the right time comes; she will make the swap and the hunters would be hers, he hypothesised. It may not be Shizuka’s plan at all but still brilliant.

"You're going to use me against Zero again, aren't you?"

"No, I'm going to use you as Zero. I'll keep him as my pet while you go out there and live his life. Follow my _advices_ , lead the Hunter Association to put me back into power and Zero shall live. Otherwise, there'll only be two Kiryuus left. You, and me.”

The silver haired vampire broke into a fit. "You wouldn’t dare! What made you think I’ll obey you? What made you assume that you can threaten me with my brother? Most importantly, you may be linked by blood, but you were never born into the clan. You may look like my father, like us but the similarities end there. We will never acknowledge you as kin. Not after all you've done to my brother! You'll never be a Kiryuu, ever!”

"Perhaps, your opinion does not matter to me. All I want is Zero and you're going to give him to me. He's not fit to lead the hunters but one of you must seize power. You, Kiryuu Ichiru has a heart blacker than mine but loves your brother more than your own life. You will the perfect string-puppet."

"You can dream, Tomohisa. Dream, till one of us chops off your head and serve it on a silver platter."

"I can't wait."

"Then again, you're right about my black heart. How about a deal?" Ichiru surprised Kaname. "But you have to free me first, dear uncle. I'm too weakened to do anything to you anyways."

Kaname was caught off guard by Kiryuu Ichiru’s sudden change of heart. The level-E was well aware that he was in there, listening. What is he up to? Unless, he was trying to spring up a trap.

Tomohisa chortled gleefully upon hearing Ichiru's unexpected request.The older hunter released the ex-human from the invisible binds and hoisted him up to his wobbly feet. The boy backed down onto the bed while Tomohisa stared him down, "Well?"

"You can have Zero, do what you want to him. I'll take his place as you wished. You don't need him to blackmail me, I want the hunters gone as much as you do too," the boy broke into an eerie smirk. "If Shizuka-sama had sealed me like you implied, it must have been her unspoken wish as well."

"Your diabolical mind never ceases to impress me, Ichi-chan. First you parents, now your own twin. Not that I trust you a bit but-" Tomohisa scoffed. "Go ahead, impress me,” he urged the ex-human.

“I know you’re not entirely honest with me too. You haven’t told me where Zero is. He’s probably already dead.” Ichiru's lips took on a lopsided grin upon seeing Tomohisa's growing interest and continued, "What is more, dearest uncle, I also know that it was you who helped the vampires get rid of with Shizuka-sama's level-D lover by entering him in my father's kill list. You deliberately gave it to my father, didn't you? Then after, I took care of the rest."

"Smart boy, I have a feeling that you would touch on that sooner or later. Do go on-" Tomohisa's excitement was apparent. His filthy heart was beating wildly, his adrenaline charged with anticipation. Kaname observed the scene with greater curiosity. Whatever were Kiryuu Ichiru's true motives, he was doing a good job luring his wicked alleged kin. Tomohisa was currently blinded by his greed.

"I've said what I need to say so here's what I want,” Ichiru grinned wider, flashing his barely visible fangs at Tomohisa, "Whatever you're up to now, I want in. I betrayed my family, even the hunters. The vampires destroyed my pureblood mistress. Morals and principles no longer means anything to me. I do like the idea of you making me stronger. Everybody desires power. So what do you say, uncle dearest?”

The bait had been casted. Tomohisa did not say anything but laugh eerily. Kaname smiled in the background because of Kiryuu Ichiru's shrewd cunning. The silver haired boy had Tomohisa wrapped around his little finger quite easily. However, staying idle and listening to the things transpiring in the room was a sizable risk to take. The two could be staging that conversation to bait him into a trap. He was not ready to trust the younger Kiryuu.

"Of course, of course I will include you in future. But first, let us get Zero. You are not complete yet Ichiru-chan. I suspect a part of you still lies within your brother. You let him consume you and then you died, correct? The hunter cupped Ichiru's chin and tilted his face upwards. "You gave it to him, and then you died. The human part of you did. Unless we get it back, you will remain weak, constantly in need of blood or else your mind will deteriorate. Stay this way and you'll turn into an E in no time. That won't work wouldn't it?"

“If that’s the case, then I understand. But where is Zero. You’re not lying to me, right?

"No, no- Zero is fine. I sent him on a special training course with an acquaintance of his. I need his new friend to get to know him better and perhaps it will be easier to get things done in future. Seeing that you're finally awake, I assume he is doing predictably well so far. He must’ve gotten stronger somehow. Stay here while I go get him back." Tomohisa chuckled and released the boy.

"I'll go with you,"

"No, my boy, you stay. This place here is a hunter research facility, doubled up as a prison for vampires. They won't be able to distinguish it apart from the other rundown buildings. However once they get in, there's no way of getting out. Not without a hunter's assistance. Don't go anywhere and take your time to recuperate.” Tomohisa pushed Kiryuu back to lie down on the bed, covered him up and patted Kiryuu’s head in mock affection. Oh, really?A prison? Have you tired holding a pureblood before? Kaname sneered inwardly.

"Alright, I will remain here. But at least tell me where you are going." Ichiru persistence puzzled Tomohisa. The amber eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Begging is not your style, Ichi-chan. What are you up to?"

"Nothing- I detested the way you refuse to believe in, you’re shunning me away again like you did when I was young, you’ve always favoured Zero. I hated you because you said I was frail and useless. I was always jealous of him. You were close to my father but you never looked at me. I’m sorry if you’re mad at me because I helped his murderer. How can I be good enough? Why didn’t you want to take me under your wings? So now, it’s like I have been given a second chance. Will you let me prove my worth?" said Kiryuu, Tomohisa seemed to be buying it. His obsession with the exploitation of the twins must have been clouding his judgement. Perfect.

"It never occurred to me that you pined for my approval," Tomohisa sneered.

"No, never..." the boy reached up and grabbed the front of the hunter's shirt, bringing Tomohisa face down close enough to hover above his. Kaname was stunned, what the hell are you up to, Kiryuu?

"I pined for _you_.” Ichiru whispered, sultrily and pulled Tomohisa into a lip-lock. The amber eyes widened in shock but to Kaname's disgust, Tomohisa deepened the contact, groaning in satisfaction as the Level-D opened his mouth to welcome the invading tongue. Hook, line and sinker. Kaname cringed and fought to remain calm. Breathe, that creature there is not _him_! He said to himself.

0000000000

"Hold on, Kaname-sama sent something," the ginger haired vampire broke the silence.

They had been trying to help Yuuki use the emblem. She had mixed her blood with Zero's scraped from the floorboard but it had not been progressing too well. Currently, she had her eyes closed and gave a vague instruction to move to the southwest. So, Cross Kaien got behind the wheels, bundled Kain Akatsuki, Souen Ruka, Kuran Yuuki and himself into the godforsaken Vampire Hunter Association's prisoner transport truck and hit the roads of uncertainties. And currently, Kuran Kaname’s text caught everybody's attention.

"Let me see, what did Kaname-sama say?" the beautiful brown haired bloodsucker named Souen lunged forward and snatched the device away. " _6-4-3-6-7-4_ , What does that mean?"

"I don't think Kaname-sama is saying anything. Just check it out, Ruka. Get Shiki and Rima to trace his phone bug location," Kain remarked. The vampire girl nodded and got her own cell out, most probably reaching out to the one of the vampire posies.

"You bugged your own god?" he leered while pushing his unruly, red bangs aside. Souen was about to give him a piece of her mind but Kain held her back. Kuran Yuuki still had her eyes closed in concentration. She held the bronze emblem close to her heart. Ironically, the tiny rubies embedded as the wolf's eyes were glowing red- red like the vampires' bloodthirsty eyes.

"~Now, now, Takamiya-kun..." warned Cross while driving as fast as he could.

He studied the map spread on his lap. The south-western parts of the map were covered by mountains and ridges. He focused on buildings or other kinds of facilities that could potentially serve as Tomohisa's hideout. He had never liked the silver haired hunter. Those sharp amber eyes bore too much spite. "I have a hunch we should head out to the direction of the training outposts, President," he said to the bespectacled man.

"It's worth checking out. I think there were at least one or two abandoned ones there as well," Cross agreed a few seconds later. He smiled to himself, focusing back on the map. He would search for places along the desolated roads. Tomohisa had taken two vampires and he must have picked somewhere where it was accessible by a vehicle. He couldn’t simply haul an uncooperative, berserk Zero on his back. Oh, Zero would go berserk, mark his words.

000000000

Tomohisa was gone. Kaname stepped out of the dank closet and approached the silver haired Level-D who had his face buried in his upturned palms. He finally got Tomohisa to reveal where Zero was- at a place named Midori. Kaname had never heard of it but he will trust Akatsuki to find out.

"You can leave now," said the ex-human. "I have helped you to get what you needed to find Zero.”

How dare he assume that I will let him go. Kaname seethed in his mind. The filthy silver haired Level-D was forgetting his place. How dare the Level-D think that he _needed_ to find his brother. He was the one who killed Kiryuu’s beloved mistress, it was foolish to assume that he believed that the Level-D was aiding him. "This might be a trap. I’ve heard what I’ve heard and I’ve seen what I saw. You might be on Tomohisa’s side all along," he said it, coldly, casting his anger temporarily aside. He would place his objectives first.

"No it's not a trap and I did what I could. You were here for Zero in the first place. Sorry, _your majesty_ , I’m not the right twin. Go now. Shoo… or I've just kissed the monster for nothing. Fuck, that was gross," he complained, voice still hoarse, muffled by his hands.

Impudent, impudent, filthy arrogant fool- just like your brother and how dare you assume that I came here for your brother's sake? He seethed again, suppressing his urge to continue where he had left- wringing the life out of the mangy creature.

"And as for you, what will you do?" Kaname was merely curious. Kiryuu Ichiru was supposed to be dead.

"I am not going to do anything but, you could finish the unfinished." Kiryuu Ichiru had read his mind. The silver haired creature sat up and faced him boldly. It was disturbing to see that faint smile gracing the pale, finely sculpted face. Kiryuu Zero never smiled- the newly arrived clone sitting on the edge of the bed, would probably be the only one who had ever witnessed such a thing.

Kaname narrowed his garnet eyes, the hauntingly similar amethyst held no fear of him. "Why?" he asked the ex-human.

Kaname detested the precision of the tattoo, the exact length of each strand of that silver hair, right to the pierced ears. No one could tell them apart, he deduced. Except for him, for he had memorized every millimetre of the real Kiryuu Zero right to his stench. The special attention he gave to the vampire hunter comes in handy in this kind of situation. The time and energy he wasted observing and studying the vampire hunter has been fruitful.

"Because I shouldn’t be here, I died. If he learns that I have become a Level-D just like him, he might break. I did enough, so help set things right again- kill me," the hoarse voice was simply too empty and lifeless. He cannot read the boy.

"What made you think that I care for your brother? I don’t” he lied. Secretly, he was more than caring. He was obsessed with his toy.

To his annoyance, Ichiru chuckled, "You _are_ here, aren't you?" For once, Kaname was lost for words.

"I've lived with a pureblood. I have an idea of what has transpired between the two of you so, I just know."

"You may continue with your fantasies, moreover I will not grant your death," he held back his wrath, making the ex-human break into a knowing smile. "However, you're now indebted to me," his voice had taken a dangerous tone but Kiryuu Ichiru just shook his head.

"What are you- a god?" the words dripped of sarcasm.

Kaname decided that he had enough and summoned his trusted aide who had been silently trailing his shadows. 

"Seiren.” 

She appeared before them, casted a cold glare at the mystified, newly turned Level-D before bowing to him. The female noble vampire moved in to place sharp fingernails against the tattooed neck, letting him know that she will decapitate him upon Kaname's instruction. However, the ex-human was unfazed.

"She shall escort you to a temporary holdout. You're to stay there until I come back for you."

"Or...?" Ichiru jeered and in turn, Seiren fingernails pressed into the neck, breaking the skin.

"Or I will kill your brother myself," he regarded the ex-human coldly. He watched the smirk fade away, replaced by a pair of thinly pursed worried lips. The amethyst eyes had taken on a darker shade. The evil twin had gotten the message. But the concern for his brother might be because of Tomohisa's theory that a part of him currently lies in Kiryuu Zero. It was more a display of self-interest rather than of brotherly love, he believed.

Satisfied, he focused his energy and blasted a hole in the wall, causing choking plumes of dust and debris to flood the room. He texted Kain Akatsuki, telling him to head towards a place called ' _Midori_ ', casted a last look on the frail unmoving Level-D for the last time and earned a reassuring nod from Seiren.

He had Kiryuu Ichiru in his hands. Kuran Kaname could not believe his fortune.

000000000

The rain had stopped, they cut their way through the misty dawn as silently as they could, avoiding the sharp rocks that littered the river banks for three and a half hours. He had made the blonde vampire walk after him, sticking close to the streams as the water would wash away their tracks and scents. Plus, there were less trees and bushes to serve as potential ambush points.

Aidou still had that haversack on his back. The blonde had insisted that they put on the ugly, green baggy clothes and get rid of their tattered ones because they needed to get warm. He had refused him flat out at first but when Aidou accused him of secretly being an exhibitionist, he growled his denial and complied. Deep down, he felt grateful for Aidou's thoughtfulness but he masked it with annoyance. The foul, moth-ball saturated fabric was so old, paper-stiff, vomit-green, emblazoned with the word "MIDORI" in crusty dark red on the back. It was no doubt the uniform worn by the workers of that slaughterhouse back in the heydays.

"How much further Kiryuu?"

"Check the map," he suggested.

Aidou dropped the haversack onto the wet ground and reached in for the ancient piece of paper. He unfolded it not too gently and accidentally ripped halfway through a section. Grimacing, Aidou pieced the map together. "So much for playing boy scouts. How old is this thing, 50 years old? Ever heard of GPS?" the vampire griped under his breath. Then, the striking blue eyes locked onto his, "Come over here," Aidou commanded.

Zero rolled his eyes lazily but decided to rile the blond up later, "Can't you do it yourself, princess? I thought you're the all rounded genius." He stalked up to Aidou and yanked the large piece of paper away. Aidou snorted scornfully.

He studied it for a few seconds, relying on his training. "We're about here," he tapped a spot on the snaking blue lines, which indicates the streams they had been following. "We need to get here." The marked cross was about three centimetres away from their current spot. "Seven to nine kilometres away, but once we get to this cliff, it's going to be a down climb. We could go the longer way round but I figured we could use an element to surprise by getting there earlier," he traced a sudden tight layer of multiple lines with his finger, emphasizing the steep drop of terrain.

"Superb. Now, let's move faster." Aidou snatched the map and stuffed it back into the pack. Not bothering to fold it back. He saddled the bag again and got ready to move..

"Not so fast, let's think this out for a second," he stopped Aidou by wrenching him back roughly by the haversack.

Aidou made a noncommittal noise and glared at him with those brilliant blue eyes. His golden hair had dried and recovered their usual vigour. The strands moved like rippling silk threads. He loathed the wraithlike beauty that graced that perfectly chiselled face. He was not envious, only that to his consternation, Aidou's face made him feel calm and secure- that was really messed up. I'm blaming the vampire hormones, he said to himself. 

"What now? We wasted about seven and a half hours trekking like mules and I want to get this over with. Let’s just whack Tomohisa and his bloodsucking fanged-monkey bunch, get that stupid memory crystal and get out of here. To hell with figuring out motives and setting up tactics.” Aidou said, impatiently. Zero sighed.

He was feeling something off ever since he digested Aidou's blood. A simpering but low thrumming in his guts bothered him but he was not going to explain it to Aidou. I was like some part of him had been abruptly cut off and all that was left was white noise. He waived it aside because he had Tomohisa to worry about. "The bastard said twenty-four hours and now we're down to about eleven to twelve hours, and that's plenty of time. If we get there early and walk into who knows what trap, mess up and the fucking crystal ball is not there. We're going to die slowly like dissected cockroaches in those biology classes."

"Are you usually this pessimistic? Aren't you going to charge in there and just wham, bam kill them all like I think you will? You and I are pretty mean parasitical cockroaches, we'll be fine." Aidou huffed in irritation.

"I call it careful planning, princess. You don't know Tomohisa.”

"No I don't but, I sure know if I'm wasting precious time," Aidou scoffed. "Let's walk and talk. You've heard of management by walking? A little bird told me that you're going to be the Vampire Hunter Association President one day so now, let's practice. Forget that I am a vampire like you too. We're mission partners from now on- I'm an all too human hunter rookie named Honey-bee Tornado and I'll make sure I bleed a lot.” Aidou spewed his nonsense, trudged a few steps forward and turned, beckoning him to follow, "Come on gorgeous, humour me. I might get killed today."

"Fuck, you're annoying." he followed him anyways.

The morning sun rays filtered through the leaves above their heads, piercing down to the foggy rocky earth like invisible towering tombstones. Yes, tombstones. He had been thinking of those in the past hour, omens of his impending demise. He shrugged the thought aside. They had been moving fast, using their vampire speed to the fullest. He did not like it at all, utilizing his unexplored side but he needed to keep up with the yellow-and-green blur in front of him. It irked him that he could pursue Aidou with ease. The landscape was gradually changing; sparser trees, rockier ground and he felt the strong gust of wind barraging mercilessly against his face. The rock cliff was up ahead.

Then he saw Aidou's lonely outline cutting against the harsh sun rays. Fierce gusts of wind were ruffling his hair as he stood statue-like by the edge of the precipice; studying the sudden drop into the swirling mist rising amongst the treetops below. The face was uncharacteristically solemn, contemplating before slowly turning towards him. "Here's the frontier ... What now?" Aidou dropped the filthy haversack ungracefully onto the ground.

The air around them shifted, both of them could feel the threats approaching like a swarm of gnats. The rustling of dried falling leaves grew louder and louder despite the wind howling in their ears. He cracked his knuckles and shrugged his shoulders in indifference; ignoring his long silvery bangs fluttering wildly in the wind, lashing cruelly onto his eyeballs and licked his dried, chapped lips.

"We kill them."

000000000

"Kaname-sama said we should head to Midori," said Kain, scrunching his eyebrows tightly after he read another text on his cell.

"Where precisely is Midori?" echoed an equally puzzled Souen. The female Kuran shook her head and shot an inquiring look at him. He knows the place all right, so does Cross. The bespectacled hunter gripped the wheels and pressed on the accelerator.

That was about an hour and a half ago. Now lo and behold, the five of them, the rag-tag-rescue- squad, were standing in front of a hulking rusty, zinc-sheet walled building with a giant red lettered sign that reads "MIDORI". The front door had been destroyed and hung precariously on its hinges, swaying and creaking. It looked like an old abandoned processing plant of some sort. The weathered, weed covered gravel road and obvious sign of neglect. Despite it all, the recent rain-washed tire tracks told them otherwise. Somebody had been there recently.

The vampires told Cross they had smelled fresh fuel and led them to an ancient but well-maintained electrical generator, indicating that the building has power. Kain and Ruka voiced their suspicion that there was life inside the building- a hunter and a vampire to be exact. So Cross had requested for Ruka to guard Yuuki while the boys checked out the premise.

Much to Yuuki's dismay, neither Aidou nor Zero was found but instead, Kaito hauled an unknown, heavily beaten, chained and dazed hunter which Cross had identified as a Gouda Naoyuki, a hunter who had failed to report back to work for almost a month, a close aide of Tomohisa. Without a doubt, Gouda was one of Tomohisa's underlings in the latest mishap. He was found kneeling unresponsively in the middle of the building's filthy mud sloshed floor. Upon Ruka's reluctant examination, she had deduced that the man was under some sort of psychological directive to stay passive and suspected it was of Aidou's handiwork.

She had also sniffed the menacing hunter issued manacles slapped around the wrist and confirmed that there was a mixture of Kiryuu Zero, Aidou Hanabusa and some unidentified scents and most likely perished Level-Es on it. Yuuki breathed a sigh of relief because they had proof that her two missing friends were very much likely still alive. The both of them were able to fight, presently on the move. She waited anxiously to tell Kain Akatsuki the good news.

It was Ruka's sharp intake of breath that diverted their attention to Kain who also came out of the building with his find. This time it was the badly injured, missing guard named Takahashi. The Aidou clan was immediately notified and would be arriving at the scene to collect the severely blood-drained Level-C. Kaito guessed that Aidou Hanabusa must have done it since Zero was a blood-denying prude but the hunter weapon inflicted wounds looked like Zero's handiwork.

Not long after, Cross found three sets of very dusty and bloody tattered clothing on the floor, along with Gouda's hunter issued weapon, a spiked flail generally known as the morning star. Ruka had scoffed at the primitive weapon of choice but Yuuki cut her off by citing her relief that neither Aidou nor Zero's blood was on it. Then the bespectacled hunter produced a very rusty curved piece of metal, an old meat hook saturated in blood. That, Ruka pointed out, had traces of Kiryuu’s blood at the base and stank of Level-Es at the sharp end. Meaning, it was Kiriyu Zero who had wielded the piece of metal as a weapon, scraping his hands on it in the process.

Cross instructed Kain and Ruka to inspect the upper floor of the warehouse while he called Yagari and asked the one-eyed man to send in hunters to scour the area. Satisfied, he regarded Yuuki with his tender most expression, pulling her into his embrace and told her things would be all right because Zero was too stubborn to die. The chaos in the warehouse was the telltale sign that the two were working together and would probably be on the hunt for the perpetrator by themselves. The two were known to be the most stubbornly impulsive and prideful characters they had ever known, in dissimilar ways of course.

Finally, Kain and Ruka returned to report that the upper office floor had been trashed into obliteration but the floor was covered with Level-B and D's blood. Kain also had positively identified a deep indent in the wooden floor which was made by a katana blade. It was filled with Aidou's coagulated blood, bits of his flesh and shards of bone. However, he concluded that Aidou had managed to overcome his injuries because Gouda's state of forced unconsciousness was recent. It was in fact, one of Aidou's unique abilities..

Suddenly, Kuran Yuuki had let out a surprised yelp as the bronze wolf emblem glowed red hot, causing her to drop it onto the ground. A large pentagram of about one meter in radius appeared on the gravel and a twenty centimetre long needle pointed at the north east, Kiryuu was up somewhere in the looming alpine forest. Sceptical, and much to Yuuki's alarm, Ruka had absentmindedly kicked the relic a few feet away but the same pentagram reappeared and the pointer still indicated the same direction, only this time it was shaking and flickering wildly. The vampire hunter must be engaging with something, requiring him to move that frantically.

He watched it all, trying to digest the corny cliché-ness of the whole situation, of vampires and hunters working together to rescue a mere Level-D of a hunter and a Level-B brat, using a godforsaken relic as a tool, hanging onto a preposterous connection between a pureblood vampire who unashamedly clung to the flimsy thin thread of sibling love, a bond she, a princess of the revered Kuran bloodline claims transcends blood and race to an ex-human vampire hunter. He scoffed at the absurdity of the whole event, pushed his palm into his face, shaking it from side to side, disbelievingly at its irony. And why was he worried about the other Kuran sibling all the sudden? There were no signs of him. The texts that the tall ginger vampire received told him that the pureblood had been doing something. What was the bastard up to?

In the meantime, Kuran Yuuki had picked up the emblem off the ground and tucked it into her sling bag. She turned towards her adoptive father wearing a determined expression.

"I'm going after them,” she declared. 

"Through the forest?" the man with the ridiculously girly ponytail squeaked in concern. Obviously Cross had forgotten that the girl was a vampire, an animalistic monster that bears a human appearance. He sneered inwardly, narrowing his greenish eyes in antipathy.

"You won't be able to catch up with them that way, your mighty highness." He broke the awkward stillness that had casted upon them all. “I think I know where they’re headed to.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> April 11th, 2020
> 
> Twelve done, five more to go. ＿|￣|○
> 
> Thank you for reading.


	13. Chapter 13

3 ...

His instincts were telling him that some creatures were approaching.

2 ...

He glanced at his equally tense blonde haired companion.

1 ...

He could hear several pairs of feet landing on hard ground, charging towards them, breaking dried twigs like crunchy crisp crackers.

0 ...

He had never expected 1, 2, 3, 4... 11 of those things to charge at them all at once. Precisely seven males and four females threatened to split his eardrums with their screeching and screaming.

_Oh, bother._

He didn't get to check on Aidou because all of the males decided to gang up on him, pouncing and swiping their talons at him randomly. Hand-to-hand combat was not his favourite way of exterminating Level-Es because obviously, he would inevitably end up with more than just a sore trigger-finger. He wasn't complaining but it's a mystery of why blonds always get all the girls' attention.

Girls would choose to fight with the girly one, wouldn't they?

A fanged, pot-bellied yellow-eyed pig managed to barrel into him right after he twisted the neck of a gangly teenage brat. Zero was sent crashing painfully into a boulder. Thanks to the obese middle-aged E, another one of them jumped him and tried to bite his neck. He shoved his left arm into the mouth, and jammed his right fingers into the eye sockets, puncturing the eyeballs. The E screeched in agony, flapped on the ground like a bloody eyed-trout. The gooey vitreous gel mixed with blood on fingers smelled strange, there was an acidic tinge. It must have been the drugs.

_Two down, five to go._

He saw Aidou from the corner of his eye. It seemed that he was not the only one who had resorted to fighting dirty. Aidou had unceremoniously flung one of the banshees over the cliff. Zero could not help but grin- it was an ingenious tactic. The Level-Es might survive the plunge but not without serious injuries, they would eventually bleed to death. Or, they would climb back up. Getting rid of them in that fashion was not a hundred percent effective but it would buy them some time. 

He had to refocus on his own opponents when the middle-aged fanged pot-bellied pig came chugging in like a freight train at him again. Using the momentum, he flipped the Level-E over his shoulder, sending the beastly tub of lard on his own free-fall adventure. As soon as he turned to face the remaining vampires, those four Es converged around him in a circular formation. Then they took turns jabing and lunging at him. Zero dodged and wove around them, determined to test the so-called effectiveness of Tomohisa's so-called soldier drug on the Es. Some of the sloppy blows had connected but Zero stayed firm on his feet, delivering some nasty kicks and fist combos at the startlingly organized, bloodthirsty, yellow-eyed quartet. He had to admit that it was alarming to see the vampires’ ability to work together. Never had he seen strategy and teamwork among Es- they were supposed to be single minded, rabid and crazed. These ones here were aware of each other.

"Quit screwing around, darling!" Aidou bellowed in the distance. "I don't want to end up a widower." Zero could hear the leer in his tone. Aidou had finished throwing the last of the female over the cliff.

"Shut up, princess!" he barked back in annoyance. Changing his stance, he placed himself behind one Level-E and drove his hands into the chest cavity, wrenching out a heart. The Level-E slowly turned to dust and based on his experience, slow means new. In normal cases, such brutality will serve as a warning to the other Es and they will flee. However, the remaining three turned even more violent. They pounced on him all at once, biting and scratching him wherever they could get their fangs and claws on.

Zero grabbed a head in a chokehold, turned his torso and bashed it against the jagged rocky ground. He heard the skull crack and the Level-E scampered away. One of them managed to bite on his left calf like a Rottweiler so he kicked it in the face with his other leg, scissored them around the Es neck and snapped the vertebrae. 

Aidou got to him just in time to pull off the last one who was pinning and choking him with the sharp talons. The unfortunate E had joined the others’ fate over the fatal drop. Aidou had flung it away like a ragdoll with his abnormal strength.

"Oh yuck, why didn't you just kill those ones?" Aidou pointed towards the three thoroughly injured and screeching Es doing flip-flops on the ground. One of them was the one with the squashed eyeballs while the other was the one with the broken vertebrae while the last one was the one with the split open skull. The smell of their drug spiked blood burned his nose like acidic fumes.

"I want to see how fast they'll heal," Zero said while sitting back up, assessing his biggest injuries; the gnawed right forearm and his left calf. His garments were soaked in his blood. "Damn, I'll need some tetanus shots," he griped, Aidou wrinkled his nose as he walked closer to him.

"I never knew you have a sadistic bone in you," chided Aidou as he kicked the one with the head injury really hard, indenting the cranium even deeper- causing the E to foam at the mouth. The thing was having a seizure and Aidou's face contorted in revulsion.

"Look who's talking," Zero leered, limping up towards the blinded Level-E. The creature had recently stopped trashing, it had moved on all fours to snack on the one with the broken spine. It may be blind but the nose must be working quite well. Zero scanned the area for anything he could use as a weapon and he saw exactly the thing he needed- a four foot long dried beech wood on the ground. He picked it up and walked towards the two Es.

The blinded E had crawled on top of the quadriplegic, biting into the grotesquely twisted neck. Zero swiftly pressed the blind one flush against the cripple with his foot and staked their hearts in one clean stab, turning them into dust. The creatures dissolved like grains of damp sand- not good. Worst of all, vampires took too long to dissipate completely which means they were recently turned. Meaning, they would have to find which pureblood or purebloods were behind the whole thing. He kept his face blank as he flung the makeshift stake at Aidou, gesturing at the blond to finish off the spasm wrecked scum.

Zero's indifference disturbed Aidou. He wondered how much had the vampire hunter changed ever since the Kuran Rido incident, since the last time he had Kuran Kaname's blood. The ex-human used to empathize with his kill to the point of jeopardizing his own safety. Aidou had his sources, so he knew of Zero's struggles. However, the silver haired Level-D standing in front of him at the moment had not even bat an eye over the kills.

"What the hell's going on with you?"

"Huh?"

"The Level-Es were once human..."

"Of course they were,"

"They were once human like you."

"Tch, I know. So what's your point, princess?"

"..."

Zero stared at the blond noble for a few seconds before walking up to him. Those amethyst eyes shone dangerously as they pierced into the turquoise counterparts. Aidou had never seen them up close before and he could not help himself from getting sucked into those mysterious pools, drowning in their intensity.

Without warning, Zero snatched the makeshift wooden weapon and drove it into the convulsing E's heart without even breaking eye contact. Aidou gulped involuntarily. The vampire hunter was doing it on purpose.

"They are Es, princess. If I turn into one, I expect you to do the same.” the steely pitch of Zero's voice sent chills down his spine.

I don't think I could. Not anymore. Aido thought, wrenching his eyes away.

"How touching." Both of them heard the voice and searched the surroundings. Zero gripped the beech wood tighter and readied himself, taking an offensive stance.

There were some rustling in the nearby trees. Aidou braced himself as he saw the suit clad Kurohashi jumped down from a tree about ten meters away from them. They were too preoccupied with the Es and had missed the Level-B’s presence.

"Looks like you've outgrown your dislike of lowly beings, Hanabusa." The brown haired vampire scoffed at Aidou while appraising Zero with a disgusted look plastered on his face. "Or maybe you're hopelessly ensnared by his beauty."

_Beauty my ass._

Zero snarled at the insult, took a step forward but Aidou caught him by the arm and pulled him back. He immediately shook Aidou's hand off.

"You're just jealous, Kurohashi Tatsuya." Aidou sneered. The silver haired vampire hunter glowered at Aidou but the big blue eyes glared back at him, telling him to stay out. Much to Zero's consternation, he could not help but complied. His uncharacteristic obedience baffled him. Then he remembered their blood exchange and winced. He would grill Aidou about it afterwards.

Kurohashi smiled at their antics and chuckled. "Perhaps..." 

Immediately, Aidou stomped on the haversack like a two year-old and glared at Kurohashi.

The green eyes lit up immediately, "Don't need to thank me. Tomohisa disagrees though." Kurohashi must have referred to the blood tablets, the map and the clothes on their backs. According to Tomohisa ranting back at the Midori plant, it was Kurohashi who had readied the supplies in that black bag.

"Why?" Aidou asked.

"You know why.”

"Kaname-sama?" Aidou took a shot, gritting his teeth.

"Right on- you may do whatever you want to Tomohisa as long as I get Kuran's head.” Kurohashi stared at Zero intently. "I may even help you skin that yellow-eyed snake, hunter, if you lure Kuran out for me."

"How dare you!" Aidou grew livid, shouting his rage.

Zero could not believe his ears, Kurohashi was going after Kuran Kaname? He wondered how he and Aidou would fit into the puzzle. He might have an idea of why Tomohisa wanted him but, Kuran? Plus, why would Kurohashi believe that he, a lowly Level-D vampire hunter, could lure Kuran out? His heartbeat thundered in his ears as he thought about it and somehow, Zero had a hunch but he rather not dwell on it. He had drunk Kuran’s blood before but there was no way he could have an effect on that bastard. Right? He remembered the argument he had with Aidou about Kuran. Aidou said that Kuran had something for him and that was why Kuran watches over his well-being. Zero could feel a headache coming up. He would ask Aidou about Kuran too later.

"See you later, Hanabusa." the vampire named Kurohashi winked deviously. "Hurry up before Tomohisa gets there," he added and disappeared.

As soon as the Level-B's presence was gone, Aidou sank to his knees and shoved his palms against his face, shaking his head from side-to-side. Zero grunted impatiently, "What the hell was that?"

"Give me a minute," said Aidou. He was fisting the hair on the back of his nape, messing his wavy golden curls. His body language was of someone wallowing in regret.

"We don't have a minute. 30 seconds..."

"Oh, please Kiryuu Zero. We now have bigger problems. He's after Kaname-sama."

"Oh, come... Do you really believe the almighty Kuran will even dip his sacred fingers in this bloody mess? I bet he's at home playing house with Yuuki."

Aidou snapped his gaze on him, "Are you really that dense? You don't know it yet, huh?"

"Know what?"

"YOU mean something to him!" Aidou bellowed his bottled up frustration in that single sentence. Zero stared blankly at him, making him angrier than before, "Don't you get it Zero? He gave you his blood once, no- twice at least! Doesn't that mean anything to you?" Aidou stalked up to him and grabbed him by the collars, bringing their faces closer.

_Did the airhead just call me 'Zero_ '? He recoiled, horrified because a part of him felt freakishly warm and fuzzy all the sudden.

"It doesn't-" Zero blinked his amethyst eyes in confusion. He grasped both of Aidou's hands with his own to pry them off his clothing. "It was just blood," he knew Aidou could tell that he was lying because the turquoise irises dilated in unbidden wrath.

"Liar, his blood tied you to him! He gave you his pure blood. How dare you say that you felt nothing for him after that," Aidou hissed angrily.

  
  


“Oh, hell no- not this talk again. Who cares what I feel or do not feel?" Zero managed to yank Aidou's left hand off his collar and gripped it firmly to prevent Aidou from clawing him again. "I wasn’t born a vampire, my genes don't work the way you freaks' does."

Aidou froze upon hearing his remark and his face evolved from fury to something akin to disappointment. "You're a freak too. Just like the rest of us," said Aidou.

"Shut the fuck up!"

"No, let me tell you something- normal, sane vampires don't go around randomly sharing their blood for some very good reasons. It's like how normal, ethical humans don't randomly screw anything with legs," Aidou licked his lips, his Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed nervously. Aidou tried to pry zero off but he gripped Aidou's left hand tighter, making the blonde wince in pain.

"What the hell are you saying, princess?"

"There are emotional consequences if you willingly let others drink your blood!"

"What?" Zero seethed. “I’m not going to listen to this again.”

"No, you will or help me I will beat it into you. Don't you get it? Think- letting another sink their fangs in your neck, suck your blood is the ultimate sign of submission. Do you know how much it takes to turn yourself into a willing victim and trust the goddamned partner not to drain you dry?"

"No."

"Oh yes, believe it. Once a vampire undergoes that state of acquiescence, the act will be eventually rendered into devotion, longing and even obsession. Imagine what would happen if the transfer happened twice.”

"But I don't feel that way towards that bastard!"

"Of course you don't. You never gave your blood to Kaname-sama. _He's_ the one who feels those things about you!"

"That's a whole bunch of crap. Devotion? Obsession? Bullshit, it’s not possible! Don’t you dare lie to me!” Zero matched Aidou’s rage.

Immediately, hurt flashed in those brilliant turquoise eyes and to his horror, Zero felt it, a painful stab in his heart for causing it. Something must have shown on his face because now Aidou was smiling bitterly at him.

"Kaname-sama is somewhere out there searching for you. Mark my words because I'll make you eat every single one of yours once he makes his appearance.” Aidou had let go of him but Zero still had the fragile looking wrist clamped in his hold. In truth, it was far from fragile. Some things are nothing like the way they appeared to be. "I can't wait to see your face the moment he decides to kill me for drinking your blood, Zero,” he said through clenched teeth.

Zero? Once may be an accident but twice is more than a coincidence. "What did you just call me?" he glared disbelievingly and released Aidou's hand.

Aidou said nothing. The brief flash of hurt on his face was now gone only to be replaced by wrath. He turned away hastily to walk towards the edge of the cliff. Zero rolled his eyes. Aidou was giving him the silent treatment. He wanted to dismiss but the blonds' weird behaviour does have an effect on him. He wanted to reach out and- make amends? His own tumultuous yearning for Aidou shocked him. Perhaps Aidou's explanations earlier were true after all. _Damn hormones,_ he cursed.

"Okay, fine- I believe you. Quit pouting already. It's disgusting!" Aidou whirled around to face him. Those blue eyes looked suspiciously glazed.

"Fuck, You're crying?" Zero nearly shrieked in dismay. Nearly- he wouldn’t permit himself to react that strongly. 

"Huh?" Aidou reached up and rubbed his eyes. "I- I can't help it. Shit!“ his face flushed crimson.

"Damn hormones." Zero voiced his thoughts aloud. He bit his bottom lip and stomped towards Aidou, startling the other vampire.

"Look, senpai-" Zero cleared his throat while simultaneously fighting his traitorous instincts to wrap his arms around Aidou- it scared him. "I don't do this every day but-" he abstained from the urge and settled for a more platonic gesture. He raised his right hand to pat the top of Aidou's head like he had always done to Yuuki to comfort her. The yellow mass of golden yellow felt like silken strands of spun gold against his roughly callused fingers.

Aidou froze. His eyes widened in confusion as he asked the obvious, "What are you doing?"

"Petting you like the pathetic little doggy you are," he hoped he sounded sarcastic enough to hide his clashing emotions. Aidou was right after all. He felt it, the aching sense to comfort, to reassure and to even seize the noble into his hold. Zero fought it all back.

"I'm not a dog!" Aidou barked furiously and went ballistic. Aidou ballistically shoved Zero away while ballistically pouting like a puffer fish, ballistically ranted and cursed Zero under his breath. The thought that he had found Aidou's antics cute were scaring the lights out of him.

Zero let the blond walk away towards the cliff again. Aidou had his back to him, the balled up fists shook at his sides. Exhaling loudly, Aidou squared his shoulders and turned to face him.

"Look, this might sound freakishly sappy but, I need to know-“ he diverted his clear turquoise eyes away from him. "Do you really feel nothing for me?" Aidou spoke carefully, a blush creeping to colour his cheeks. Uh, awkward, Zero internally panicked. Aidou was staring at him with anticipation. He brushed the nagging urge to smack the blond. 

"I wish you didn't even ask the question. So I won't need to tell the lie," Zero stuffed his hands into the ugly green work pants pocket, hoping that his haughty body language will help to mask his uneasiness. He also hoped Aidou could decipher his hidden meaning, that he does feel the abnormal pull, like an untraceable short circuit in his internal mechanisms.

He burst a few veins because Aidou's unabashed smile had caused his blood pressure to skyrocket to a new record high.

00000000000

The hunter called Tomohisa Atsushi was an astonishing character. He was related to the Kiriyu twins by blood, but he had done something to the twins during their childhood. Zero had been undoubtedly abused while Ichiru had been fearful of him- he had seen the younger twin's reaction to prove his theory. The picture in his pocket spoke volumes. His blood boiled, he could feel his aura seeping out of his barrier and he quickly pulled it back. The silver haired hunter must not know that he was being tailed by an angry pureblood vampire. The truck turned to a narrow side road.

Tomohisa had orchestrated Kiryuu Zero and Aidou Hanabusa's kidnapping. He had been keeping the other presumed dead Kiryuu pair in an old hunter research facility. It turned out that Hiou Shizuka had turned both of the boys after all- Zero on the night their parents had been slain by the mad avenging pureblood, Ichiru sometime later. Kaname was impressed with Shizuka's ingenuity in sealing the other twin as a human. She must have had bigger plans for her visions of anarchy, revenge or whatsoever it was but he who had thwarted her in mid-step. Now, her hidden black knight had fallen into his hands and he had his castle, Seiren to keep him under control. He would pursue this vile, scheming creature who had dared to snatch both of his knights. All he had to do was to get to them before his queen, Yuuki arrived. Kaname had a lot planned for Tomohisa.

_An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth._

_Repay evil with evil._

The vehicle had stopped and he saw Tomohisa step out of it. There was a stone and concrete structure protruding off the ground. He realized that it was some sort of an old bunker. It appeared to be almost abandoned but Kaname could sense something else too.

Level-Es.

A multitude of them. Tomohisa had disappeared in the building, his humanlike aura blending and dissolving within the havoc waves of the ex-humans' presence. They were wild, chaotic and crazed. Kaname focused on Zero's but he can't sense the vampire hunter. There was no sign of Aidou either. So, he stayed out of sight to observe and wait.

00000000000

They had scaled down the rock face with ease. They were vampires. They had natural adaptability to execute those kinds of feats. Too bad he was not equipped with an auto braking system hence, he had failed to notice Zero's sudden stop and crashed into the hard muscled back. "Ouch! Why did you stop?" Aidou screeched, rubbing his nose. Zero wasn’t answering, he was studying the surroundings with critical eyes.

"Sure- ignore me. What now, darling?" Aidou huffed impatiently. Keeping up with the tease-battle was tiring but he had to or else he will pour his sappy hormonal heart to Zero. Or give Zero spontaneous back hugs- he shuddered. Curse the bond. 

"This place is familiar."

"Huh? You're telling me that you've seen this mushroom before?" Aidou kicked an innocent spotted toadstool off the damp ground, smirking at Zero.

"Urgh.. You're fucking irritating!" Zero snarled at him. "I've been here before. I've trained here.”

"This is in the middle of nowhere. What the heck are you doing training out here for? Wrestle bears?"

"Hell, I was trying to communicate. Details like this matters. What’s up with you and your airheaded brain? Fuck, you're infuriating- move it!"

"Kurohashi Tatsuya blames Kaname-sama for his brother's death," Aidou mumbled all of the sudden.

"Wha-?" Zero whirled around and stared unbelievingly at Aidou. "What kind of a flying fuck's randomness is that?"

"I'm communicating."

"Ooh, how thrilling. The snotty crying brat I saw must be him. You were there with Kuran too." Zero had referred to his visions.

"You saw that?"

"Unfortunately, yes I did.”

"Kaname-sama killed his brother to protect me. Kurohashi Reizo tried to harm Kaname-sama and I stopped him. Reizo held me hostage but Kaname-sama terminated him."

"Why I am not surprised. That bastard kills anyth-"

"No!" Aidou hissed, cutting Zero off and grabbed him by the arms. "It's not like that. The Kurohashis are pro-council. Reizo had been ordered to eradicate Kaname-sama when he came to my residence. I got in between them and tried to shield Kaname-sama from Reizo’s attack but Kaname-sama had it under control."

"Explain why Kurohashi Tatsuya's helping us now?" Zero tugged at Aidou's ugly green jacket and yanked the haversack strap.

"I think he wanted to make sure we got to Tomohisa."

"Any ideas why? It doesn't make sense."

"He's using us all. You, me, Takahashi, the stinking giant of a hunter, that damned Tomohisa and the Es to get to Kaname-sama."

"You're saying he's double crossing his gang and is helping the hostages escape better all in order to seize that damned arrogant Kuran? That's pretty far fetched, don't you think?"

"Maybe. By the way, what made you think you've been here?"

"The terrain's familiar. I've been here with-" Zero stopped mid sentence. He gritted his teeth and looked away.

"Tomohisa?" Aidou finished for him. The look on Zero's face was something he had never seen before. It was hurt mixed with anger. Zero did not say anything. He turned back to resume their track.

Aidou sighed. He followed Zero's lead. They walked for a few paces before Zero stopped again. "Look senpai, I don't know how to go about this- about Tomohisa-, " Zero hesitated. Aidou watched those broad shoulders droop as Zero inhaled deep and exhaled. He had thrown his head back to stare up at the rays filtering through the trees while letting his hands hang limp by his side.

Aidou could sense Zero's aggravation from his body language. He felt his own heart being sliced. He was glad that he could only see the back of Zero's head. He would not risk looking at Zero's face because he was afraid of his own reaction. Would you feel better if I wrap my arms around you? He wouldn’t, not at the moment.

"That man is someone that I want to kill for the things he had done and caused. I wanted to so much but-," Zero paused.

"You can't because he's human and a hunter?" Aidou guessed. Zero nodded his head. Aidou realized that the stoic vampire hunter had just done something out of his character. Zero had shown a glimpse of his vulnerable emotions to him making a faint sense of satisfaction spread within him.

"There are things far much worse than death, Kiryuu,” Aidou said, reaching out his hand to touch the back of Zero's head. "I'll help you get your justice." He felt the tips of his fingers brush against the fine silvery strands but immediately retracted them back.

The vampire hunter must have felt the touch because he had turned to face him. "Stop saying and doing those sorts of things, senpai. This new you is confusing me. Honestly, I prefer you acting like a snooty prick like before.”

"Why, Zero dearest. What could you possibly mean?" Aidou smiled and tilted his head to one side feigning innocence, Zero's eyes darkened.

"Fuck you!" The scowling intensified. 

"Stop looking at me like that or I'll let you,"

"Now you're creeping me out."

"Sorry, can’t help it- hormones," Aidou chuckled, wiggling an eyebrow. 

Zero rolled his eyes.

  
  



	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short one.  
> This chapter was very hard to write- I remember . I didn’t edit it much. 
> 
> Brace your heart.

Zero was right about his hunch. He found out that the surroundings were getting more and more familiar. The more they walked , the more Zero registered the landscape. He had been there before. They were at the place the hunters called the 'Northern Outpost'- an old abandoned battleground between the hunters and vampires. Tomohisa had chosen the place as his training site because of the desolateness of the location. None of the other hunters favoured the place because it reminds them of the bitter war they nearly lost.

The yellowing, crumbling map they had been using must be older than the war, he guessed. That was why he was unable to recognize the place from the topography. Nowadays there were roads leading to the outpost. If memory serves him correctly, they would be heading towards the old bunkers. Zero scanned the surroundings for anything familiar.

Minutes later, he spotted a giant white oak growing about eight feet in circumference at the ground, and at a point ten feet above the ground, the branches began to radiate from the trunk. This white oak was at least two hundred years of age- Tomohisa had once told him with kind twinkling eyes. That was where he had once been tied to and left to starve for days because he failed to execute some charms Tomohisa had patiently taught him.

Zero would never try to become skilled at the things that Ichiru could potentially excel over him. Charms, spells and aura manipulation were meant for Ichiru so he had told himself and the rest of the hunters that he never had a niche for soft magical erudition, or swordsmanship, or the negotiation and diplomatic skills taught by their masters. Those are specifically designed for Ichiru and should be mastered by Ichiru alone- so he would not learn. 

Zero was the imperfect, perfect son- the one to shoulder his clan's legacy and continue its glory. His parents had been frustrated with his inability to learn the said skills so they had sought out for Tomohisa Atsushi's expertise. He had been sent to learn one-on-one with his father's illegitimate prodigal genius half-brother, minus Ichiru. Ichiru had been doing fairly well in the regular lessons with Yagari so Tomohisa would only have to focus exclusively on educating Zero, said his parents.

Having adopted an image of a stoic, quiet but obedient child since young, Zero found himself deserted by the persona he tried to embody every time he was with his private instructors. Zero became irritable and explosive, a facade he wore to discourage his previous teachers who attempted to teach him skills outside combat and survival. It had worked on them so it should work on his kind, patient uncle too, he thought. Tomohisa would grow tired of his tantrums and give up- just like the rest.

Despite it all, Tomohisa had seen through him and had forced him to learn, _or else_. Yet, Zero was determined to sabotage himself for his brother's sake. It was Ichiru who deserved to learn from Tomohisa- not him. One day Tomohisa would get sick of him and request to train Ichiru, the clever one instead. Ichiru would be happier if he had the chance to grow stronger but Tomohisa didn’t want Ichiru. Ichiru was too fragile, he said. But Zero would not back down- Ichiru’s fragility was his fault- he had wronged his twin from the very beginning, since they were in their mother’s womb. Zero chose to be punished for his stubbornness and the punishments evolved from a teacher's reinforcing hand into predestined spite and lastly, into a sick obsession. Tomohisa's failure had caused the once kind, doting amber eyes to evolve into ones filled with malice and malevolence. All because of him, the impudent half-nephew named Kiryuu Zero who just refused to learn, soiling his reputation.

Zero snapped into reality when they passed through a barren clearing littered by a sea of tiny whitish-gray granite. He remembered the pain he felt the time Tomohisa had made him run in circles barefoot on those sharp rocks for forgetting to smile that one time the older hunter praised him during sword practice.

That time, he had accidentally succeeded in countering Tomohisa's lunge with a clean Passata-Sotto.He had dropped his hand to the ground and lowered his body under Tomohisa's oncoming blade. Then he straightened his sword arm and hit Tomohisa back. He was not supposed to be that good. Tomohisa praised with a dark knowing smile plastered across his handsome face while he paled in mortification. Then Zero had forgotten Tomohisa's unspoken rule- to smile back whenever praised. He had sealed his punishment.

Aidou had complained about those rocks cutting the soles of his precious feet, and grumbled again saying that the scent of Zero's blood was too much for him to bear.

Zero wanted to tell the blond that the pain he felt when Tomohisa pin his small adolescent sweat soaked body on those very rocks was far more agonizing than those sissy cuts under his feet.

During the course of his punishment, he had slowed down his pace in during the forty-seventh bout of his penalty lap, his body was telling him it was time to give up but he pushed on, his vision were mottled red, even the grey granite were stained with hundreds of his reddish footprints.

_"I'll punish you for being weak."_

Tomohisa's chilling voice rang in his head. The paralyzing horror and shame he suffered afterwards when Tomohisa threw him onto the bed of stone razors, divested him off his clothes and rammed his fury into him over and over again were far more excruciating, anaesthetizing the strings from the cuts on his raw back. At least Tomohisa did not break his bones like before. 

_"Accept this like a good boy, Zero, all of it, or I'll make Ichiru take your place."_

Tomohisa's cruel laugh echoed off the barriers he erected around the memory. That was the beginning of Tomohisa's systematic torture, the spiralling point of descent into his disgraceful emasculinization. Tomohisa had taught him to suppress and transform his shame into iron-clad resolution. He had collected and balled up the viscous ignominy he endured every time he had to wipe off his blood that trickled down between his legs and solidified them into vendetta. He would hate anything that will harm both him and his brother. Zero had taken it all, each and every one of Tomohisa's never-ending vindictiveness for Ichiru's sake.

Although Tomohisa had not succeeded in teaching teach him any of the hunter skills that his parents wished him to learn, the older silver haired hunter had proven to him that there was no romantic illusions about bodily gratification. Sex was merely an efficient pleasurable tool that could be utilised to manipulate, avenge or sabotage that can be heightened by physical pain. His teacher had robbed him of his chastity hence, he would forever be saddled with the fact that he was forever tainted, unclean and unworthy to be loved. The cruel amber eyes had permanently scorched those inerasable marks in his heart.

He was a fool to think that he had gotten over his trauma. He was a fool to believe that the loss of his humanity, his transformation into a despicable Level-D vampire was enough to erase his sufferings. Tomohisa had brought it back pelting on him like a torrential acidic rain.

Zero paused in his steps and scrunched his own eyes to will the disturbing images to go away. He doubled the barriers, wrapped it around with thorns so he would get hurt before he could ever reach into it and remember again, sealing it further into the back of his mind. He believed in his strength and summoned up the vowed ambition to make Tomohisa pay back for the things that he had both given and taken from him.

With blood.

Aidou's concerned blue gaze was the first thing that he saw when he opened his eyes to the world again. Those full lips parted as to ask a question, his right hand was reaching out tentatively to touch him but Zero did not linger and proceeded with his trek. He sensed that Aidou had done the same.

The rocky clearing merged into the forest so they had the trees as covers once more.

  
  



	15. Chapter 15

The sun burns. It burns like it was a reminder that he was not worthy to tread on the earthen lands anymore.

_Because you're no longer human. You'll turn to dust and scatter in the winds. Nothing left in your death, not even a body to be buried in her cool bowels._

Zero fingered the right side of his neck, feeling the tattooed seal thrumming against his pulse. Something was up, he could tell. It was like an invisible force had been calling out for him and his soul had answered back. It was distracting him and worse, the white noise filled void was growing and expanding.

_Ichiru_.

He had been thinking of his dead twin for a while now. That simpering voice that used to echo in his mind had suddenly gone silent starting from the moment he sunk his fangs into Aidou's neck and drank the Level-B's blood. He did not like it at all. Ichiru was gone just like that and all that was left was that unexplainable emptiness.

Speaking of Aidou, the blonde had been too quiet, walking almost soundlessly behind him. No smart quips, no scathing remarks no nothing. He stole a glance at his companion and was shocked to find those sharp blue eyes were locked onto his. Zero grunted in annoyance and continued onwards. They were getting nearer and nearer to the bunkers. Tomohisa would be there.

"Talk to me." Zero heard Aidou's voice splitting the awkward silence. Zero swallowed hard. His ugly memories are threatening to burst out of the barriers, 

"What about?"

"Your pain," said Aidou a bit too bluntly.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Evasiveness was the best option. Zero gritted his teeth and summoned his will to remain calm and not lash out at the other vampire.

"I can feel it Zero, whatever it is. Tell me like you did before and we'll work it out. I need you to be clear headed after this." Aidou's voice was soft, concerned- and to his utter denial, he felt his own heart caving.However, pride made him choose anger over gratitude, 

" _Zero_? _We_?" He growled dangerously and spun on his heels to face the alarmed Aidou. " _Need_? I told you to stop confusing me. There has never been a we despite having this inconvenient bond and there never will be." Maybe Aidou too had just realised his slip up, his uncharacteristic behaviour because the aristocrat paled in mortification. His mouth opened and closed, unable to find his voice. Zero broke into a derisive grin, grabbed Aidou by the shoulders to pull him close and studied those panicked blue eyes. He knew Aidou was equally confused as he was, a consequence to their blood sharing but he could not resist the urge to transfer his ugly hate to the other vampire- so at least he would not suffer alone.

"Look, I can do something about it. But you have to trust me." Was that fear flickering behind those pretty blue irises, Zero wondered.

"You know that I don't trust you," he huffed and released the blonde. Zero turned to walk away, they still have a distance to cover. He would sort put his head along the way- Aidou was being over-dramatic and he was wasting precious time. 

"Please," Aidou said and grabbed his right arm, stopping him from taking a step further. "I promise I won't hurt you."

"You're creeping me out again. Let go!" he warned.

"Believe me Kiryuu Zero, I wouldn't be doing this if I'm not at the end of my tether. Something was unsettling you back there and I can assure you that I can lessen the burden."

"Why?"

"We might die after this, Ze- Kiryuu. I want that memory crystal, you want Tomohisa. The Es would be in the way and so will Kurohashi. We'll be screwed if Kaname-sama got compromised. Unless you're thinking straight, we won't make it. Not like this."

"Tch, figures. I knew you're doing this for yourself and that bastard," he accused.

"I said WE, you dumb idiot! You and me! Have you ever been listening? Shut up and let me do what I have to do. Trust me." Aidou was blushing mad.

_Oh my cursed fucking god- these hormones, shit_!

Zero felt his own cheeks burn, "Fine, Work your voodoo and whatever! This better work or I'll kill you for sure." Aidou glared daggers at him, puffed his cheeks and punched him not too lightly on his arm.

"Now, gather whatever skeletons that you have in that blockhead of yours and let me reach in to them." 

"Sure. How the hell are you going to reach in though?" Zero sneered. To his surprise, Aidou caught his left wrist with his right hand and brought the appendage up close to his lips. The realization dawned upon him; Aidou was going to pierce it out of him with those already glinting fangs.

"Gather them up for me." Aidou's glowing red eyes made his blood freeze in his veins.

Zero did as he was told and felt Aidou's hot canines sink into his flesh.

0000000000

Kaname leaned his weight against the cool trunk of the pine tree, about twenty-five feet off the ground; still eyeing that old bunker. There was something really off with the Level-Es’ auras emanating from behind those crumbling stone walls. Stranger, there is not a single E that had come out of that structure. He was expecting some sort of chaos or rampage the minute Tomohisa, a human, food, stepped into the place.

His garments flapped in the wind and he was growing impatient by the minute. Kaname was about to make his descent and storm Tomohisa's hideout when he felt a familiar thrum in his blood. He recognized it immediately.

Kiryuu Zero.

The Level-D was close, he could feel him. However, he could not help to sense the dark forbidding sensation that came rolling in with it. Tuning in to his instincts, he deduced that the vampire hunter was approaching from the southwest, somewhere from the direction of the hulking mountain range and he was not that far away.

He was about to jump down when a faint metallic scent wafted in the air. He recognized it immediately making something akin to possessive fury flared within. He blamed his intuition for throwing him off balance, left his perch and pursued.

00000000000

He was feeling warm all over. Zero was aware of Aidou's fangs latching in his wrist, draining him in slow, controlled draughts. He had followed Aidou's brief instruction, to focus his haunting memories and let him tap into it. Aidou had his eyes closed and his eyebrows knitted as he was fighting with himself, tears were welling up at the corners of his eyes and a stray drop had trickled down his flushed cheeks.

Zero was unsure whether the lightness he was feeling has something to do with whatever Aidou was doing or a result to the apparent blood loss. There was a very blonde and a very blue eyed leech sucking on him. However, the pained whimper Aidou let out just before he freed his fangs and the surging relief that coursed through his being eliminated the latter suspicion.

He watched Aidou sag, bowed over onto the leaf covered ground, supporting his weight on his trembling arms. Zero licked the puncture wounds close and crouched down beside Aidou. Locks of wavy blond hair fell over Aidou's face, shielding it from his view.

"What did you just do, princess?" Zero would not tell him that he felt like a ton of bricks had been lifted off his soul.

"Give me a minute." Aidou wiped his bloodstained mouth with his sleeve and pushed his palm against his bowed head.

Zero smelt the salty scent of Aidou's tears, "You're crying again," he stated the obvious.

"Yeah, just give me a minute."

"30 seconds princess," he hoped his haughty tone would make Aidou snap out of his funk. Aidou's behaviour was affecting him strangely. He wanted to reach out and console the blond but he would not. He wound never. However, instead of returning the scathing remark, Aidou brought his face up, lips quivering and tears streamed down like rivers.

_Oh, crap_.

"I- I was not prepared for _that_ ," Aidou said, his breath hitched. He wiped his eyes again and bit his lips. Zero did not know exactly how to react, he wanted to wring the answers out of Aidou but tears were his weakness. He had never survived Yuuki's crocodile tears assaults anyways so, he casted his need to smack Aidou aside and tried the gentler approach.

"What did you just do?" he asked again. "What do you mean by that?"

"How can you survive after going through all of that?" Aidou emphasized the last work through clenched teeth. "This pain-“ He gripped the front of his shirt.

_Oh, my shitty motherfucking god._

Zero cursed silently after realising what Aidou meant. Aidou had somehow seen the memories.

"You asked for it- so do not pity me." he cautioned Aidou. Zero felt Aidou's anguish washing over him like giant waves. “It’s all in the past.”

Aidou nodded wordlessly. However, to Zero's mortification, the tears flowed anew so he did the only thing he had always done to console an upset Yuuki or Ichiru. Zero bent over and pulled Aidou's head close to his heart, spayed his touch in the fine golden hair and traced circles on the scalp with the tips of his fingers. The remnants of those unholy tears soaked into his clothing as Aidou calmed down.

"This is weird, princess,” he complained half heartedly and he felt Aidou's lips curved into a smile against his erratically beating chest.

"Whatever- but it’s a nice kind of weird. Shut up and just hold me for a minute. You owe me." Aidou grabbed the waistband of his pants and pulled him down until he rested his right knee on the ground. Aidou's arms snaked around his torso and stayed there. He found comfort in Aidou’s scent- the blonde smells like pine trees and bergamot. Zero gulped nervously because to his utter denial, he liked it. 

"Okay, all right. Thirty seconds of weirdness is enough.” He tried to sound as haughty as he possibly could. He had to let go before the strange balmy warmth that had been welling up in his soul burst out and he ended doing things that he would sorely regret afterwards. The strange pull he felt towards Aidou was going to short circuit his brain again. “Let's go, princess- time to get ourselves killed now." 

Zero exhaled in relief when Aidou removed his arms from his sides and detangled his fingers from the luxuriously spun sunshine mop. But he was not prepared for Aidou's sudden move. Zero found himself knocked down onto his back, partially buried in the dried, brown leaves on the forest floor, with Aidou hovering dangerously above him. The blonde had pushed him down and had his wrists firmly pinned at both sides of his head. Spindly legs were straddling his left thigh and Aidou’s hands felt abnormally cold- cold as ice.

_Shit_!

Zero realized belatedly that Aidou's vampiric power was back. He tried to push Aidou off but those magnetic blue eyes paralyzed him. Their current position brought the faint memories of Tomohisa. Slivers of anger took over and he felt his eyes burn red. He cursed himself for trusting Aidou, for letting the deceitful Level-B vampire tap into his worst nightmares and provided the opportunity for them to be used against him.

He cursed himself for believing that Aidou was different from the rest of the manipulating bloodsuckers; different from Kuran Kaname. Now he was somehow connected to the blonde by blood and he simply has to kill him.

"You have to trust me, Zero." Zero opened his mouth to scream out his threats but Aidou had swooped down and crushed his lips with his own- rough, hard and possessive.

The move was translated wrongly to the silver haired ex-human and had made him angrier. Zero raised his head off the ground in an attempt to bash it against Aidou but the blonde was quicker to avoid the impact. His hands were still frozen solid to the ground making him clench his eyes shut and growl furiously.

Suddenly, he felt some wet droplets pelting on his face and almost immediately, Aidou was gone.

Zero managed to break out of Aidou’s restraints a few seconds later. He scrambled to his feet and scanned the parameters. There was no sign of the blonde but he could feel another presence approaching at an alarming speed. Before he could think of anything, he had come face to face with the very last creature that he had expected to see.

Kuran Kaname.   
  


He couldn’t pinpoint why but he was relieved that Aidou was no longer around.

  
  



	16. Chapter 16

“What the hell are you doing here?” Zero asked, masking his surprise well with a frown, and got carefully to his feet. For a person who was declared missing, kidnapped, Zero strangely was not happy to see him- someone he knew, who was there most likely because he had come to save him. Not that he had expected Kiryuu Zero to welcome him with open arms- they were not exactly on friendly terms, only having Yuuki as their common denominator. Nevertheless, a bark of disrespect or a volley of curses would be acceptable enough knowing the vampire hunter’s personality because the drainage of colour from his naturally pale face, that uneasy glare the vampire hunter currently directed at him and the escalating thumps of his pulse counts as highly suspicious behaviours. 

The vampire hunter was wary of him.

The vampire hunter was not happy to see him.

Ungrateful.

But realised that he no longer referred the ex-human vampire hunter as ‘ _Kiryuu_ ’ in his mind- it was ‘ _Zero_ ’ now. If he was any other vampire, he would probably be panicking, wishing for the ground to part open and swallow him whole- but he wasn’t one. 

Zero was shoeless and there was a filthy black bag lying uselessly amongst the scattered leaves. He could not sense Aidou anywhere within the parameters.

Kaname wrinkled his forehead in scrutiny, and he ignored Zero’s question. Instead he shooled his voice to bear a tone of indifference and said, “I see that you have managed to stay alive. Where is Aidou Hanabusa?” Kaname asked because Zero was completely covered with his aide's scent, among other things like dirt and blood. His hands, buried in the pockets of his long overcoat, tightened into fists.

The ugly, bloodied and torn green clothing Zero wore smelt old. It was safe to assume that the vampire hunter had encountered Level-E trouble not long before. Zero had come out of it no worse for wear, just a few scrapes and bruises peppered his skin. Overall, he appeared to be in good shape.  
  


He noticed Zero's pulse spiked when he was asked about the blonde aristocrat’s whereabouts but it returned to normal almost immediately. "Gone," said Zero tersely. His body language was all agitation, anger leaking from his pores, eyes gazing at a certain direction with teeth clenched. Did something happen between the two? There was no evidence of a scuffle on the forest floor to indicate a physical fight. Immediately, Kaname realised that Zero’s anger was not directed at him- Zero was upset with Aidou. 

Kaname felt an unexplainable rage simmering under his skin and to his consternation, Zero had turned his back to him, picked up the filthy bag like he was not even there. He saw the crumbling stencilled lettering on the green shirt- 'MIDORI’. It was the name of the place Kiryuu Ichiru managed to dig out from Tomohisa. ‘6-4-3-6-7-4’ Kaname recalled Tomohisa's electronic security code and made the connection. It was the numerical representation of the letters. Kaname chided himself for not being able to see the simple connection. Tomohisa might not be so smart after all.

  
  


The vampire hunter unscrewed the cap of a bottle he fished out of the bag, poured some of its contents into his palm, popped them into his mouth and chewed- blood tablets. Surely he was not kidnapped together with the bag. Did he steal it from Tomohisa? Kaname did not ask such questions because presently, he was irked by Zero’s nonchalance. Despite being the first thing the ex-human asked him when he arrived, Zero did not press any further to find out the reason why he was there and chose to ignore him. What happened to Zero's fire? He wondered what had happened to that insolent creature who had never failed to amaze and impress him with his tenacity. This blasé attitude was testing his nerves- he did not like being ignored. 

He was about to lash out at the vampire hunter when something, or rather some _things_ stirring from beneath the leaf covered ground. They felt like Level-E vampires- he would have to question Zero later. 

Below them, from the sound of their low, trembling growls, there should be over a dozen of them. Recognising the threat, Zero braced for action and issued him an odd warning, “These are not ordinary Es Kuran, so do not underestimate them.”

  
  


Like a swarm of gnats, four Level-E vampires punched their way out of the ground at separated points. Several more followed suit, crawling their way out like a bunch of yellow-eyed spiders unaffected by the radiating sunlight. Kaname remembered the bunker. There must be tunnels leading to their current location. More and more Level-Es were surfacing from the hidden trap doors- Tomohisa must have sent them.

Kaname sensed strangeness from those creatures as the ones emerging from the further trap doors scurried to round up on Zero who had taken an offensive stance, ready to attack. The Level-Es had begun to converge around the ex-human hunter. He on the other hand was going to face the hissing creatures from the other two exit points. They were Level-Es but their movements were too coordinated, like a troop of fanged guerrillas. 

The vampire hunter did not appear to be perturbed by the Level-Es’ uncharacteristic cohesiveness, Kaname assumed that he must have encountered them before judging by the state of Zero’s bloodied and tattered clothes. Moments later, Kaname saw Zero take down his first Level-E by delivering a well-timed kick to the creature’s throat, the other ones wasted no time to begin their own attack. Kaname would compare Zero’s attacks to slaughter because of the degree of brutality that the silver haired vampire hunter had unleashed. 

One of the Level-Es had a foot long short sword, Zero had incapacitated the wielder and used the weapon to maim and slaughter the rest. Blood splattered, body parts were severed as Zero obliterated them, alternating between kicking and slashing his opponents, fully utilising his prenatural speed. Zero did not seem to be bothered with the odd odour coming off the Level-E blood spattered onto him- he looked like carnage incarnate. The dead Level-Es took a bit longer to crumble into dust, which again, very odd. In spite of it all. Kaname was mesmerised, _his_ Zero has gotten stronger. The dark being in him hummed in approval, after all it was his pure blood that made the ex-human vampire hunter powerful. 

  
  


It was reckless of him to neglect his own band of would-be attackers just to admire Zero’s fighting prowess. Precisely thirteen creatures had formed a tight circle around him. He telepathically ordered the Level-Es to stand down, but startlingly his command had no effect. Worse, at least five of them brandished weapons- guns, rifles and fired at him simultaneously.

  
  


Zero must have heard the gunshots because he yelled something to him. He didn’t quite hear because he was preoccupied to stay out of the bullet trajectories. So far, he was successful. As he dodged and weaved around the cluster of Level-Es, the bullets had consequently homed into the other Es. Three dissipated into dust while another one screeched sustained a nonfatal hit- screeching bloody murder, rolling on the ground. The fifth slug must have strayed elsewhere. More shots were fired. His brain tried to process the situation; typical Level-Es lack motor coordination and were not mentally capable of wielding weapons, let alone handle complicated armaments such as guns and rifles.

  
  


"Kuran- move, these were once hunters!" Zero's warning was a millisecond too late as white searing pain exploded in his back, specifically near his lower right ribs- he let out an angry hiss. One of those creatures had shot him.

Enraged, he turned to the creatures, gathered his energy and released it like a wall of scorching plasma. Kaname saw Zero's panicked face right before he swiftly kicked a Level-E off him, bounded out of the way and scaled up a gray birch tree like a cat.

All of the Es had been successfully reduced into piles of scattered dust. However, Kaname realized that the exertion had taken a considerable toll on him as his knees nearly gave away and blood spurted out of his wounded back, soaking into his clothes- the wound was not going to be able to close properly because of the anti-vampire bullet lodged inside. He was losing a significant amount of blood but would never show weakness- he steadied himself. Then he searched for Zero and saw the blood drenched vampire hunter perched on a tree branch, staring down coldly at him, eyes glowing red stimulated by the scent of his pure blood.

Kaname was about to order Zero to come down when he saw another vampire leaping towards the distracted Zero, swinging a sword aimed for the head. Kaname gathered the remnants of his energy and directed it to blast the branch which sent Zero plummeting down towards the ground. The blade missed the vampire hunter’s neck by centimetres. Kaname was unable to hold himself up any longer. He stumbled, fell onto his knees, and collapsed onto the leaf covered ground. Much to Kaname's silent relief, Zero had landed on all fours and growled- infuriated. 

His brief concern for Zero had created an opening for the assailant to drop towards him, sword pointed downwards aimed to skewer him right into the ground. Kaname rolled out of the way just in the nick of time, the blade missed him. He had to roll his body again in the opposite direction as the assailant, unrelenting, swung the sword with such force that almost half of the blade sunk deep into the ground. Zero, who has gotten in between himself and the attacker, delivered a vicious roundhouse kick to the vampire's abdomen. The impact sent the brown haired vampire crashing onto the damp earth. Zero moved in to straddle and choke the brown haired vampire.

"I told you that he would come for you." Kaname heard the unknown vampire gurgle in his own blood. The kick had done a significant amount of damage, most likely injuring internal organs but Kaname doubted it was enough to kill the vampire.

"Fine- I’m sold. So where's Tomohisa?" Kaname heard Zero's question, barely containing his anger. However the other vampire let out a mirthless chuckle. Those green eyes were slowly taking on a red tint, he too was affected by the scent of his pure blood. Kaname had used too much energy so the wound in his back was not clotting. He had collapsed onto his stomach and blood was pooling underneath his body. 

“I have no idea,” the brown haired vampire told Zero. “Why don’t you track him yourself?” he added, leering.

Zero let go of the vampire’s neck. He wearily wipes his face with a hand, smearing the vampire blood splatters, then looks at the vampire he was still straddling and sighed before saying, “Hell, I don’t have time to argue with you. Just so you know, you asked for it.”

In a flurry of movements, Zero flipped the vampire over, placed his foot on the small of his back and put pressure on his arms, lifting them up at a wrong angle until they were pulled out of their sockets in a sickening pop. The brown haired vampire screamed in pain. 

Without warning, Zero drove the blade he was holding in his hands mercilessly into the vampire's right shoulder, sticking him to the ground. Kaname registered the howling vampire as a Level-B. Zero's behaviour was far too violent to be considered normal- something else must be behind his unnatural motivation.

“You son of a bitch!” the Level-B spat, fighting body spasms which caused him more pain because the sharp blade sliced deeper due to his uncontrollable jerking. Kaname almost pitied him. Of course he did not. He almost forgot his own miserable injury distracted, awed by Zero’s brutality- something he will admit aloud- ever. 

The silver haired vampire hunter snorted in response. He grabbed the Level-B by the hair to yank the head up, earning another volley of curses directed to Zero’s mother. “Ah, but you should curse Tomohisa instead of my dear departed mother. His lessons were very hands-on so I know how much it hurts- pain sure is a foolproof method to make sure one remembers,” said Zero, coldly.

Was Zero insinuating what he thinks he was insinuating? That Tomohisa has hurt him the very same way he tortured the Level-B assailant? Kaname was enraged. He willed his body to sit up, spilling more blood onto the ground. His dark clothing was soaked. 

"Tomohisa said you’d know where to find him. But aren't you going to ask for your lovely Hana-chan? I saw him travelling all alone so I sent some _friends_ to _accompany_ him.”the Level-B must have had a death wish to try and rile the vampire hunter even more. Strangely enough, a spark of jealousy flared in Kaname when Zero growled and twisted the blade mercilessly, renewing the Level-B's howls of agony. 

"No, I’ve seen how that _Hana-chan_ of mine _handled_ new _friends-_ let’s just focus on Tomohisa. Hmm... Let me guess, the main bunker?" questioned Zero as he placed his left foot not too lightly at the back of the vampire's neck, increasing the pressure and yanked the blade out, more blood splattered onto his clothing.

The fact that Zero knew of Tomohisa's involvement surprised Kaname. The way Zero was addressing the strange Level-B gave the impression that the two had met. Plus, Zero had also casually mentioned about the bunker. So Kaname assumed the most logical explanation- Zero had been there before.

"I take your silence as a yes. Now, here's the consolation for missing my head," Zero was about to pierce the Level-Bs heart but Kaname stood up and caught the sword hand and wrenched it aside making Zero snarl in his face."What now, Kuran?"

"I have better plans for him. He is Tomohisa's man, isn't he?"

Kaname's knowledge of Tomohisa made Zero's eyes widen in disbelief but it quickly took on the usual look of indifference. "Tch, why am I not surprised? This one’s name is Kurohashi Tatsuya. Rang any evil death bells?"

Kaname paused for a moment to take in the Level-B's profile. The brown hair and the green eyes were not that exceptional but the name Kurohashi registered something that he rather not recall. This was the brother to Aidou's teacher, the one he had assisted in killing. Aidou Hanabusa's first kill in his bloodied road of life as an aristocrat- Kurohashi Reizo. He could remember vividly that time he coached the too innocent Aidou to freeze and shatter the older vampire into a thousand of icy pieces, right in front of his stricken younger sibling. The vengeful Level-B lying on the ground must have been after his head.

"It does- In that case, just kill him." Kaname decided to play along with Zero.

"Gladly..." An eerie smile disfigured Zero's pale, finely chiselled face as he reverted his attention to skewering the vampire called Kurohashi.

"Wait! Please, wait!" Kurohashi pleaded.

Zero arched an eyebrow, "Alright, I'm listening."

"I'll show you the way," Kurohashi tried to bargain for his life. 

But Zero rolled his eyes and scoffed, "I know the way.- say goodbye." Zero twirled the blade and aimed again. Kurohashi Tatsuya‘a eyes widened in horror. "Or name the pureblood behind the Level-Es.” Zero halted his swing in half-strike, negotiating.

Kaname perked at the new development. A pureblood? _Ah, but of course, Level-Es can't be grown on trees,_ thought Kaname. 

"I can't." Kurohashi confirmed the fact there was indeed a pureblood involved. Kaname was intrigued. The nagging pain from the hunter bullet was temporarily forgotten. 

"Name them- or I'll sic him on you," Zero had addressed him like he was a common dog. Kaname felt his temper flaring. Kurohashi snapped his petrified gaze onto him. Kaname narrowed his eyes in irritation. 

_Should I bark, or should I growl?_

"You're going to die either way, Kurohashi. Tell me now and I'll give you a chance to make a run for it." Zero sounded convincing enough.

Kurohashi got the message, the Level-B was about to open his mouth when suddenly a knife flew out of nowhere and sank squarely in between those green eyes.

Zero brought the sword up in a defensive stance, grabbed Kaname's arm and dragged him away, bodily shielding him from any potential attacks as Kurohashi dissipated into dust. They scouted for the assassin but found none. Apart from the rustling wind, the forest was in a standstill.

Zero realized that he still had the pureblood's arm in his hold and released it like it was scalding his skin. He leaped away with his face flushed red. Strangely, Kaname missed the death grip. He figured Zero's decision to haul him out of harm's way was merely his protective hunter side acting up.

"Just like a crappy plot of a bad movie- so cliche." Zero mumbled while walking away from Kaname. 

Kaname tilted his head slightly to one side, questioning, at the same time enjoying Zero's embarrassment. _Was he ashamed because he tried to protect me?_ Kaname’s heart bloomed. 

"I meant the bad guy assassinated by a flying knife thing," Zero stole a glance at Kaname.

_Oh- right_.

Zero picked up the almost forgotten filthy black bag and slung it onto his shoulder. It smelt like Aidou. Again, strangely enough, Zero had managed to pour acid on his bleeding pride.

0000000000

"Get out, all of you," said Kaito as he opened his door and exited the vehicle. Cross had stopped the clunker about seven hundred meters away from the Northern Outpost bunkers. The older hunter was positive Tomohisa had been using the place as his base as no other hunters favoured the location. Kaito hoped he was right or else they had wasted precious hours rattling like fools, in that ancient transport truck for nothing. 

The Midori plant was on the other side of the ridge and Cross had taken the shortest route around it. By the shortest means the dirt roads. Kaito resisted the urge to rub his poor abused rump.

The pureblood princess had produced the cursed _Zero-the-damn-vampknapped-prick-detector_ wolf emblem again and placed it ceremoniously onto the ground. Her worried face made him sick. The vampire girl named Souen caught him sneering and glared at him. He almost wished the relic would not work.

  
  


Too bad it did. Once again the pentagram appeared and the pointer had grown longer than ever before. It was directed towards the bunkers. Cross let out an over dramatic gasp, killed off the engine and grabbed his weapon.

"We'll be going on foot from here onwards," Cross informed the vampires.

The tall ginger haired one called Kain nodded and beckoned for the Souen bitch to stay close by Kuran Yuuki.

Kaito rolled his eyes, watched the fanged gang of leeches trail after Cross who had taken point. He fell back to the rear of the rescue squad.

_'You would pay for this trouble later, Zero.'_ Kaito gritted his teeth and growled.

0000000000

The great Kuran Kaname laid there, on his right side, breathing shallowly regulating his pain, red seeping through the fallen leaves covering the ground- eyes closed, face ashen and his lips were tinged blue. What a sight to behold. He wished he had a camera on him. Maybe not, he could get Aidou to copy the image from his memory and make the blonde print it out- somehow. Hell, the bastard was still good looking despite being half dead. The pureblooded vampire was injured, most likely from a gunshot wound, or two, perhaps more. He wanted to pull his hair out. For a second, Zero didn’t know what to do. He kills vampires, a hunter, a killer, not a medic. He wondered if vampires would go into shock like humans do- maybe not. 

He wanted to leave the arrogant prick there because he was positive that Aidou had gone to face Tomohisa all by himself, that blonde idiot. He had to tend to the Kuran lord and then be on his merry way. The keyword was _wanted_. It doesn’t mean that he could. If it wasn’t for Kuran, his head would’ve been separated from his neck. That would be a wimpy way to die. Ambushed and nearly died in a sneak attack by a vampire he didn’t really know just because he was busy ogling at Kuran. Hey, that power blast was awesome. 

_So, help save Kuran’s lily ass it is._

Zero approached, and then crouched beside the pureblood to roughly assess his condition. “I hate to give it to you Kuran, but judging from that kiddie pool sized mess you’re leaking, you’re going to bleed to death,” Zero informed him unhelpfully. 

“I’ll be fine.” 

“Stop lying to yourself and let me help because I am really in a rush here.”

“You’re going after Aidou?”

“Yes- so may I? There is a small creek up ahead. We can staunch and clean your wounds there.”

“Only if I get to come with you later.”

“Not in this condition- you’ll be in the way.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“And I will repeat- stop lying to yourself. Besides, Yuuki will skin me alive, wait for my skin to regrow and skin me again if I let you reduce yourself to billions of dust particles.”

“No she wouldn’t. “

Zero rubbed the back of his own neck with one of his hands, telling himself to be patient because he too would be as equally as petulant as Kuran Kaname if had to accept help from his sworn enemy, so he said, “This will be your third warning, you insufferable fool- stop lying to yourself. And, you clearly don’t know her that well.” He was doing it for Yuuki, he convinced himself- not because he felt like he owed the pureblood his life. “I was not joking when I said I’m pressed for time. Aidou might have already landed himself in trouble as we speak. I need to get to him but I can’t just leave you here.”

Kuran opened his eyes to stare at him- there was a storm behind his glazed eyes, the look on his face was something he had never seen on the pureblood before. He looked angry but heartbroken? Most probably worried sick for the blonde princess. Anger he understood since he had outrightly called the cocky prick weak but the kicked puppy look, he didn’t understand. Zero decided that he didn’t need to care, clicked his tongue as he manhandled the unresisting pureblood, hoisting him up across his shoulder in a fireman’s carry. The smell of Kaname’s delectable blood filled his nostrils. He stamped down the urge to drop the vampire back down and feast on whatever that was left- no one would ever know. He could overpower the pureblood easily in his weakened state, he remembered liking the taste of that pure blood on his tongue- he loved it very much. Horrified by the morbid turn of his own thoughts , Zero mentally slapped himself, bit his lower lip and refocused. 

Equally distributing Kaname’s weight, Zero grabbed the brunette’s clammy right hand with his own so he wouldn’t fall off and headed towards the creek as fast as he could without jostling him too much. He suspected Kaname also has a broken rib or two because along the way, the prick hissed in pain, reflexively interlaced their fingers together and squeezed too hard. The bastard really didn’t know his strength. 

The creek was exactly like Zero remembered, dense trees grew on both sides of the bank, knee deep clear water flowed along the gravelly river bed. He spotted a big flat rock near the water edge and carefully lowered Kaname to sit on it. The pureblood blinked a few times, the Zero’s blood soaked jacket and then looked up to meet the blazing red eyes. “Your eyes are red,” Kaname commented.

“Can’t help it, you know why,” Zero grunted, he turned away to squat on the bank, washing his hands and face. “Will you be able to take off your coat and shirt by yourself? I need to assess your injuries,” he said to Kaname, speaking over his shoulder. 

The pureblood didn’t say anything back, shrugged his coat off slowly and proceeded to work with his shirt buttons. Zero, who had been staring from the water edge turned to him when he noticed him struggling because of his trembling fingers. Kaname has lost too much blood- he looked dazed. 

Zero rose to his feet because Kaname was taking too long. “Come, I’ll do it for you,” said Zero, with gentle fingers, he unbuttoned the red stained shirt and quickly averted his eyes. Kaname thanked him and started to peel off the garment. Again, Zero assisted because the fabric was sticking to the injured flesh. 

Zero began to gently prod at the still oozing wound. The pureblood’s flesh pulsed around the bullet hole, trying to knit back close but the anti-vampire bullet was obstructing the regeneration. “They got you in your lower right rib. Feels like part of the bone was shattered and I hope it is not too deep or else I have to dig it out of your liver.” Kaname had his eyes closed and hands on each thigh, supporting the weight of his upper body, breathing with controlled exhales. “I have to use my fingers to feel around and fish it out because I don’t think cutting it with this hunter blade I have right now is not a good idea. But if it is too deeply lodged, I really will have to cut you. So, I won’t lie- it will be extremely painful.”

“I’ll be fine.” Zero almost rolled his eyes hearing the pureblood’s too-frequently-used-answer but he has little time to spare for the sake of arguing. He grabbed the white cotton shirt and tore both sleeves off. He shredded the rest, took the most bloodied pieces and rinsed them in the water along with the short sword because he will be using the fabric to staunch the wound as soon as he gets the bullet out while the blade, he may have to use it. Wringing the fabric, he walked back to Kaname to tell him to bite into a wadded ball of cloth. The rest, he placed it on Kaname’s spread out overcoat. It was the best he could do. Besides, he doubted vampires would get germ infections like humans do.

“All right, listen. Whatever happens, do not attack me. I’m telling you again, it will be hell of a pain and since the bullet is anti-vampiric, it will burn my fingers as well.” Kaname nodded in understanding. 

Cleaning the wound as much as he could, Zero pushed his right first finger in, ignoring the squelching sound it made and started to feel around for the bullet. Kaname’s body had gone rigid, Zero didn’t pay much attention to the noises the pureblood made, continued to push past pieces of shattered rib bone and then he felt it, scalding the tip of his finger. “The good news is I found it, and the bad news is, it’s deep- I’m going to have to cut you up.”

He didn’t wait for Kaname’s agreement. He retracted his finger, grabbed the blade and pierced into the pureblood's muscled back, widening the wound. Blood poured anew. Chucking the sword away, he quickly drove two fingers in to dislodge and extract the bullet. Kaname groaned and growled his agony. His hands grabbed onto Zero’s waist, pulling him close to press his face into Zero’s chest. Zero, held both of his hands up in the air, unsure of where he should put his hands as he found himself being crushed into a hug. The pureblood’s body twitched and trembled as the vampiric machinations in him worked sluggishly to seal the wounds. It was awkward. 

“Hey, it’s over,” said Zero, eyes still red, his bloodlust surfacing as he was now hyper aware of the pure blood scent permeating from Kaname’s body. Kaname let out a low grunt, still not letting Zero go- leaning his weight against Zero, treating him like a crutch. “You did great,” Zero said awkwardly while bringing his blood covered hands in front of his own face, marveling at the redness. 

Without thinking, he touched the fingers he used to pinch the anti-vampire bullet to his lips, giving the scorched tips a tentative lick. It was a big mistake because the taste sent him reeling and he had to bite back an embarrassing moan from escaping his lips. He had it before and he now craved for more. The same dark train of thoughts played in his head again- Kuran Kaname was weakened, how easy it would be if he could just pin him down and take what he wants- but he wouldn’t. _Then bind him to you, make him drink and he’ll be yours,_ whispered the wretched thing lurking in his heart. He wouldn’t. 

Zero willed himself to gather his control. He held Kaname by his shoulder, pushing the pureblood slightly off him. “Hey, can you let me go? I have to check your wound. It’s finally healing and I need to clean and decide if we need to bind your torso.” The brunette’s arms around him were like casted iron, immovable. “Come on, Kuran. The clock is ticking, don’t you want to save Aidou?” he made his voice gentle but there was a sliver of annoyance slipping.

To his shock, his feet were suddenly knocked out from under him by a sudden move by Kaname. He hit the ground on his back, knocking the wind out of him as he felt the back of his head explode in pain, his vision flooded with white. “Fuck- fuck that hurts! What the hell is your problem?! I told you not to attack me. I already got the damned bullet out of you. Fuck!”

As his eyes regained focus, Zero slowly stood up only to find he saw Kaname was on his feet, body bent at the waist with both hands on his knees, panting and he said, “I sorry, I lost too much and I almost-“ 

“Bit me?” Zero interrupted and finished the sentence. Kaname snapped his glowing red eyes to lock onto his. Zero dusted cracked his neck, “Okay, this won’t do. I get it, I’ve been there. I know exactly how it feels. So I have a few questions for you.” Zero recalled the time Ichiru shot him in the dungeon, wounding him so he’d drain him- his heart twinged bit he pushed it aside. Truthfully, he was awed by Kaname’s current iron-clad self-control because Zero wouldn’t put up much of a fight, often he immediately latched onto the proffered neck. 

“Do you still want to come with me to Tomohisa’s snake pit and get that dumb Aidou back?”

“Yes.”

“All right- I have a dilemma here. Tomohisa’s true target was really you. He has grander plans for you and Aidou and I were bait. Though I’ve told Aidou that you wouldn’t come for us but damn, here you are in the flesh. So, if I let you come with, it is the same as I’m doing exactly as that shitty old hunter had wanted and better- your proverbial head presented on a silver platter.” Kaname seemed surprised, Zero bit and then licked his lips before continuing, “However, if I left alone, meaning I ditch you here, you are going to trail after me anyways even in your not-so-great condition. Then Tomohisa would likely get what he wants without getting much of a fight too. Either way, I think I’m screwed. You must be able to fight on your own because that fucking Tomohisa is one hell of a hunter.”

The vampire hunter swore he saw Kaname smirk, looking smug about something before schooling his face to appear neutral- but the eyes were still red. “I am impressed you know me so well,” he said, waiting for Zero to go on. 

“Will you be able to heal faster if we get some fresh blood in you?”

“Yes.”

Inhaling deeply, Zero continued, “Right- so here what we will be doing. You’re going to take some of my blood.” Kaname’s red eyes seemed to glow brighter, predatory, Zero suppressed a shudder. “But I don’t want to be bonded to you.”

“What?” Despite his calm expression, Kaname sounded angry. _Is he angry because I am willing to donate some of my blood to him or the fact I didn’t want to be tied to him?_

“You gave me your blood before, I don’t want to complete the damn thing, the bond, a tie, or whatever.”

“You know about blood bondings, how?” The pureblood vampire raised his eyebrows at him, sceptical. Zero nearly scoffed back but didn’t, only fashioning his lips to a sneer.

“I read a lot,” supplied Zero- lying to a pureblood’s face. Kaname didn’t have to know about his and Aidou’s accidental bond, not with the way Aidou was so worried about Kaname finding out. Kaname having special feelings for him, an ex-human pariah?

_Unlikely_. 

“If the blood is taken from each other's neck, then yes- a bond will be formed.”

“You mean it will be safe as long as you don’t bite me in the neck?”

“That is correct.”

Immediately, the vampire hunter rolled up his left shirtsleeve up to his elbow. He crouched down to clean his hands in the water, picked up the bloodied short sword from the ground and then walked towards him, and held out the arm- determined. “You can bite me here but try your best not to take too much or I’ll fucking stab you,” he told Kaname, all in one breath. He didn’t even care if he sounded nervous, his heart was beating rapidly it felt as it would burst out of his chest. 

“Very well,” Kaname agreed too easily, pulling Zero down with him to kneel on the ground, knee-to-knee. It was then Zero realised that he was looking at Kaname at his most vulnerable; shirtless, his uncovered torso smeared with dried red, pale unblemished skin stretched over defined muscles. The pureblood had about three inches over him, the shoulders were broader than his- he had known. He didn’t dare to look closely at Kaname’s face. Zero was unnerved by Kaname’s beauty, the creature in him was pleased, almost purring, admiring the perfection of the most powerful vampire he knew. And this pureblood vampire has gone out of his way to seek him, perhaps rescuing him but he wouldn’t acknowledge it because his pride wouldn’t allow him to convince himself to accept it. Kuran Kaname has gotten injured because he had done things to save him, the ex-human pariah. He felt his cheeks flush. 

To his horror, the pureblood gave him a small knowing smile. Was he that obvious? He never thought he was capable of blushing harder. 

Before he could pretend-complain about the sharp rocks digging uncomfortably into his knees, Kaname had brought Zero’s wrist up towards his mouth. The pureblood searched Zero’s face for any signs of protest. Finding none, he held Zero’s equally red gaze as he licked at the base of the palm, ran his tongue along the bluish veins and ghosted his fangs over the sensitive skin underside of the wrist, poised to bite, raising goosebumps on Zero’s skin. As soon as Zero nodded his consent, Kaname sank his fangs into the unyielding flesh, puncturing veins and sucked. 

The sensations Zero was experiencing as Kaname was draining his life blood was perplexing. His body has long gone cold, incapable of producing body heat ever since he was turned into an ex-human. But now, as he watched through half lidded eyes, the pureblood drew his blood in careful, controlled draughts- he felt it. A slow, creeping, long forgotten warmth spreaded stemming from his punctured wrist, surging through his veins. It seemed right having Kaname, an extremely powerful being brought down to his knees, depending on him. Zero realised that every pull from Kaname’s lips is a tiny drain of his life, making it harder and harder for him to stay conscious. He tightened his grip around the hilt of the stolen sword but he didn’t make any attempts to stop the pureblood. 

A little while after, Zero couldn’t keep himself upright any longer, Kaname unlatched his fangs and he sagged pathetically against the pureblood’s bare torso. He let his eyes close as he felt arms going around him. It has been such a long time he felt this safe. Zero knew he shouldn’t trust a vampire. However at that moment, even though he heard Kuran Kaname’s voice calling his name, long fingers cupping his cheek, he let his leaden limbs go limp. Kaname was still calling his name. Zero was determined to prolong the warmth he was feeling- he let unconsciousness take over. 

Just for a little while, he wanted to rest.   
  


Tomohisa would never kill Aidou- not yet. At least not without attempting to capture him. He was after all, his sick minded uncle’s _favourite_.

_Wait for me you dumb, insufferable princess._

  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> April 14th, 2020  
> I have to spilt the original chapter 16 into two so instead of having 17 chapters. We will be having 18 (*ﾟ▽ﾟ*) 
> 
> Someone, *cough* lightingmist95 *cough* read the old version on ffnet years before and wanted more KaZe so I changed the story for them. See, that’s why we should talk to the (attention starved and needy) author- leave comments. Your wish just might be granted.
> 
> And the change was a MAJOR one. I was planning to simply upload the chapters of the sequel as soon as I finish this story but... it looks like I have to edit them too. 
> 
> This chapter is definitely a WIP. It is riddled with mistakes. My clunky native tongue to English ‘processor’ (brain) was a bit wonky today and I ranted to my cat for about half an hour because I was mortified because I wrote ‘eyes’ 26 times and used ‘blood’ 66 times in this chapter alone. Expressing these hawt but angsty vampire boys is hella hard. Believe me, you don’t want to read them going all out of character acting like needy lil bitches.  
> Ugh \\(//∇//)\ 
> 
> Thank you for reading.


	17. Chapter 17

He awoke, body numb from the drugged feeling a night sleep sometimes induces. Lethargy- that was the best word to describe his current condition. Groaning, he realized that his head was cradled in someone’s lap. Puzzled, he didn’t move because he couldn’t believe his mind when he heard that someone spoke to him, “How are you feeling?”

Immediately he felt his stomach sink and he realized that he had carelessly dropped his guard in the presence of Kuran Kaname. Mortified, he scrambled to sit up defying all the roaring and splitting in his head. The pureblood hands steadied him holding his shoulders. They were on that flat rock he made Kaname sit on before. He noticed Kaname’s blood stained overcoat had slipped off him. The pureblood prick tried to be a gentleman, he scoffed inwardly. “I’ve been better. How long was I out?” he said. 

“Not long- just a few minutes.”

Zero groaned, “Thank fuck.” Kaname looked at him as he stood up, studying him with a too-calm gaze. The pureblood trailed his fingers down to his arm to the fading bite mark on his wrist. Zero froze, gobsmacked because he intended to twist his wrist away but his body hummed in contentment instead, a string of curses hanging from the tip of his tongue but not escaping from his lips because the light contact zinged- dread flooded his mind. 

“You damned liar! Why am I feeling these heart fluttering things towards you? It sure feels like a fucking bond!” he snarled at the pureblood. 

Kaname had the galls to look hurt, the previously calm face transitioned into a frown as he released the wrist he had been holding. “I don’t know,” he said, his red-brown eyes were downcast, thick lashes brushed the pale cheeks. The look on Kaname’s face said he was taken aback. For some reason, it made Zero feel guilty. 

Not for long. 

The pureblood vampire had an incredible talent maintaining his top spot in Zero’s _‘Registry of Arrogant Motherfuckers’_ and successfully made Zero regret saving his royal ass by saying, “But let me remind you that it was your decision to offer me your blood. It would not benefit me in any ways to be blood bonded to _you_.” Though the prick’s expression stayed neutral, his tone was hard as granite.

_Oh, I should have killed him when I got the chance._

“Look, I’m sorry,” he said, without even looking at Kaname because unfortunately, the pureblood was right. What could he possibly gain from a connection with an ex-human. Worried about Aidou and anxious to leave to head to the bunkers, he reigned in his temper and shackled down his pride and continued, “I shouldn’t have acted that way. I shouldn’t have shouted at you but I was startled because I am supposed to hate vampires but suddenly I felt something I shouldn’t feel when you touched me.” Zero cringed because he found his voice taking on a defensive quality. He rarely apologised.

“I forgive you. Truce?” the pureblood agreed too easily.

“Sure, but I maintain my resentment towards your arrogant ass.”

“Understandable. Sometimes it's hard to understand why things happen the way they do, but when they do, you have to accept them. You will have to trust me this time.”

“I trust no man, vampires, even if it's my brother no- especially my brother but let’s not go there. If you’re thinking that I’ll bank on you even if you have saved my life, you’re wrong because I never for once had asked you to.”

“Likewise- all of my previous actions were all for Yuuki’s sake because she treasures you.”

“Same here,” Zero stated impatiently. “Look, we don't have time to dilly dally or smell the roses anymore. We have to go now before Tomohisa cripples or worse, accidentally kills Aidou just because he taunts the _pedo-bastard_ too much.”

Kaname’s garnet eyes took on a vulturous glint. 

Zero thought the look suited Kaname more than the pretentious calmness and tranquility he paraded around for the masses. 

0000000000

"It's far too quiet. Are you sure we're at the right place?" the Souen bitch was trying to sound smart.

"I can feel something from that bunker," the tall one called Kain said while scratching his ginger tufted head.

"Most probably they're in there- Yuuki?" Cross asked his pureblood adopted daughter's opinion.

_You're a high ranking hunter for God's sake. Grow a backbone_!

The vampire princess nodded meekly and clutched the godforsaken bronze relic even tighter.

Kaito snorted, ignored the other four indecisive creatures and made his way towards the bunker despite Kuran Yuuki's quiet protest. Cross fell into the creature category because he had forgotten to die like a typical human being and lived for more than two centuries.

Kaito studied the riveted door and gave it a tentative push. It was broken. The others had fallen behind him, eying the door cautiously. They too had felt the charm rigged onto it. A vampire could pass through the door all right. But not without sustaining some sort of injury from being zapped. Whoever had busted the solid metal door must either be a superhuman or a very callous, suicidal vampire.

Kain piped up saying that he could smell Aidou's blood on the crimson stain on the latch.

_'So, a callous, suicidal vampire it is,'_ concluded Kaito.

Kuran Yuuki said she could not smell Zero anywhere, just Aidou.

_'Okay. Now I'm a bit worried.'_ thought Kaito as he disarmed the charm and let Kain enter first. Then Cross, Kuran Yuuki, Souen followed suit. Kaito took the rear again.

  
  


0000000000

  
  


The narrow, low ceilinged tunnel forced them to walk bending over almost 90 degrees from the waist. He had swathed the blade of the short sword with some tattered fabric from Kaname’s ruined shirt. The stolen weapon was now in the haversack on his back and the protruding hilt had been inconveniently snagged against rocks while traversing in the darkness. Debunking Kaname’s suggestion to barge directly from the bunkers, Zero had insisted for them to take the backway. Zero figured they could use some element of surprise against Tomohisa. Kuran had protested initially, most probably because he was too snooty to stoop low. 

_At least you’re not crawling on all fours you prick!_

In the end,Kuran relented and there they were, reduced to snivelling gophers sniffing away in the dank tunnels. In instances like these, Zero wished he had not grown so tall. Kuran must have an uncomfortable time too because he could feel the demon's agitation.

_Well, it was his choice to tag along, wasn't it?_

However, Zero had other suspicions of why Kuran was so apprehensive of trailing after his butt in the pitch black darkness. The pureblood was shot with a hunter bullet in that scuffle aboveground. Sure, he had _fixed_ and even provided the bastard with his own blood but, he had used a hunter's sword to cut through the wound in order to get the bullet out. Still, the sluggishly healing wound on his back must have been killing him. It was not oozing blood anymore but the scar tissue and regrown skin were tender. He had questioned the pureblood about it as a measly wound like that should not have taken that long to heal. It satisfied his pride as a hunter immensely when Kaname admitted that it was because he had overused his vampiric powers and he had been subjected to a near fatal injury caused by hunter weapons. Zero smirked in immense satisfaction hearing the admission of weakness- only in his mindscape of course. 

Before they left the creek, Zero had used the remnants of Kaname’s bloodstained shirt to tightly bind his torso. The pureblood is shirtless, with only Zero’s hastily fashioned makeshift wrappings around his torso under his equally bloodstained overcoat. He could smell Kuran's addictive blood scent permeating in the dampness of the dark tunnel. That alone was enough to attract any bloodsuckers like flies to honey.

Need proof? Enter exhibit number one- Kiryuu Zero, an ex-human Level-D vampire hunter. Current status- unable to turn off his glowing red eyes _feature_ because there was a damned annoyingly tempting pure blood source trailing after his arse and stupidly he had donated his blood to the pure blood source making his life a lot more difficult- he was thirsty. The dark vampiric being in him was getting more and more difficult to subdue.

That aside, the absence of any kind of rabid, bloodthirsty and drugged spiked Level-E charging down on them made him wonder about Aidou. No, he was not worried. He was merely concerned. Zero assured himself over and over again. Moreover, he could still feel Aidou's pulsing life force. It felt new, the ability to sense another from a distance, not noticing before as Aidou has never left his side ever since they accidentally bonded.

Zero had been analysing Aidou's strange behaviour right before he disappeared. He had been convinced that the blonde airhead had tricked him into revealing his dark secrets. However, the tears that pelted on his face in the end do not add up to the hypothesis. In short, he may be wrong about Aidou. Now he was worried because from the connection, he was positive that Aidou was somewhere further up in the bunker and he was weakened. Tomohisa was supposed to be in the bunker too. _Oh, bother_. 

The tunnel suddenly came to a small chamber high enough to permit them to stand up in their full height but not wide enough to do jumping jacks without smacking each other in the face. At the other end, the tunnel forked into two. Kuran had seized the opportunity to nudge past him and straighten up. 

"You’re not bleeding anymore, are you? Like reopen your wound-"

"Concerned?"

"Of course, you've destroyed any possibilities of covertness choosing not to discard that blood soaked coat for the sake of fashion." Zero coated his words with venom, careful to keep his voice low and prevent it from resonating off the walls. He would not admit to Kuran that he was bothered.

"Tomohisa would not be able to smell blood," Kuran Kaname, the cold blooded Level-A vampire replied blandly. Despite his uncaring gait, the garnet eyes blazed, cunning and Zero was growing uncomfortable given the close proximity of their bodies. He was uncomfortable because the scent of Kaname’s blood, stale or not, was teasing the beast inside him.

"Yeah, whatever. Can you go on? Otherwise you should stay here," he prayed Kaname would choose to stay back for he had to summon a chunk of his strength just to hold the thirst back. It was wearing him down and he could not afford to be distracted.

"You are worried about me?" there was a playful quality in those words. 

Zero wanted to reach into the wound and jam that damned bullet back in deeper into the arrogant demon. "It's the polite way to say that you're slowing me down," he drawled.

"How considerate of you. Perhaps you are going to ask why-?"

"Why what?" Zero understood Kaname’s innuendo. He was secretly wondering why the pure blooded demon was dragging his royal butt out there too.

"Suit yourself." Kaname replied nonchalantly, fully intending to challenge Zero. It was getting annoying, they were wasting time. Corrections- Kaname was wasting his time, that needy bastard.

Regardless, Zero shrugged it all off. Focused his senses to home on Aidou, they had a complete connection don't they? He was right. Aidou was somewhere down at the end of the right tunnel. Zero bent his body again and was about to enter when Kaname pulled him back by the back of his collar.

"Staying?" Zero jeered at Kaname, and he was sure his glowing red eyes had added the insolent effect.

"Why not the one on the left?" Kaname asked coolly but his eyes were telling a whole different story. The pureblood was unexplainably pissed and Zero fought his Level-D impulse to cower and run. 

_How did he know I could sense Aidou? No, he doesn't know. He's just being an ass._

"Check it out then. Take your time," Zero replied gruffly and ready to go into the right tunnel, confident that the pureblood would follow suit. However, much to his dismay, Kuran Kaname, with hands stuffed in coat pockets, headed towards the one on the left. 

Annoyed and acting by instinct rather than common sense, he grabbed Kaname’s left arm with both hands and pulled him back so hard, the pureblood’s hand was yanked from the coat pocket. Jarred by Zero’s roughness, Kaname hissed as he bent over in pain, head bowed over. As Zero was about to help steady the other, a piece of paper that looked like a photograph came out of the coat pocket and landed by Zero’s feet. 

He picked it up and looked at it. 

It was a photograph of him. He remembered Kaito’s tear-stricken face as he begged Tomohisa to let him go. Tomohisa made the redhead _document_ his bound and battered young body, mentally torturing the older boy by making him an unwilling accomplice instead _or else_.

He stared at the photograph. 

He felt numb. 

Zero endured the cold, chilly barbed tendrils of anger wrap around his heart, constricting as he tore the thing into tiny little pieces. 

Kaname’s gaze followed Zero’s hand movements, and then he snapped to attention, eyes wide as he stared back, garnets meeting amethysts.

Judging from the pureblood’s rueful expression, he never intended for Zero to discover that he _knows_.

_Too late_.

Go, he mouthed the word to Kaname, pointing towards the tunnel on the right. There was no time to waste. 

How can he forget that Kuran Kaname had manipulated him for his gain before- at least twice.

The icy tendrils constricted so hard, his heart bursted. 

Zero was never going to trust the scheming pureblood ever again. 

0000000000

They had been walking deeper and deeper along the barely lit tunnel underneath the bunker. The mud packed walls were covered by blood and grime. The sludgy floor was streaked with brownish mud. More of the same stuff but in powder form was scattered together with dirty articles of clothing strewn haphazardly everywhere and he knew enough to conclude that they were stepping on vampire remains. The other three vampires in his flock were silently increasing their walking speed.

Suddenly, Kain stopped and he could hear Cross's frantic voice instructing him to come forward. Kaito pushed past the two females and came nose-to-nose with a buzzing blue force field at the end of the tunnel. He saw Tomohisa whip an immobile Aidou who was trapped in an anti-vampire circle like a helpless fly caught in a spider web. There were no signs of Zero.

"Can you deactivate this Kaito-kun?" Cross did little to disguise his panic.

"I need time," he replied as he studied the wall. Tomohisa had rigged it with a complicated barrier. Getting it down would be quite tricky but plausible.

"We don't have time!" screeched Souen while attempting to barge through the barrier. The wall of energy singed her palms.

"Ruka, please..." Kain held her back.

"Shut up and let me concentrate!" Kaito grew livid. "I'm aware of the urgency of the situation but senseless panic will not speed anything up!"

"He's right." said Cross, placing his hand on Kuran Yuuki's shoulder and pulled her into his embrace.

  
  


0000000000

Go, he mouthed the word again to the unmoving pureblood vampire. 

“Zero, please it is not what you thi-“

“You know what, you often pull stints like this- who cares?” he cut Kaname off, his voice hollow- like his heart. His face displayed nothing; no shame; no resentment; even anger because Kaname made him lose faith. “There is a slim chance for a lowly ex-human to walk out of this shit intact anyways so it doesn’t matter,” he supplied. 

It was time for action. He knows in his heart and mind that he will not survive this. He knows confronting Tomohisa was as good as suicide. Fight, he might have a slim chance of winning but there were no guarantees for Aidou. He could not afford to put Kaname out there because knowing Tomohisa, the fiend would have something ready to subdue the pureblood. However if he surrenders-

Zero could feel Aidou up ahead. Faint yellowish light spilled at the end of the tunnel. The temperature had dropped considerably and he believed that Aidou had something to do with it. Faint voices echoed off the tunnel walls; two persons verbally lashing at each other. 

Zero took a step forward but Kuran tugged him back by the haversack. 

He cursed under his breath, pulled the sword out by the hilt, letting the bag drop to the floor. Zero whirled around to face Kaname, touching the blade against his neck. “What the fuck do you want now?!” he hissed. 

“Nothing I say will appease your disappointment in me, but I hope for you to know that I meant you no harm. I just believed it wasn’t the right time.”

“And I will say it again, I don’t care and neither should you.” said Zero gritting his teeth. 

A look of profound hurt flashed across Kaname’s face before he pushed himself against the sword, the sharp blade slicing his skin- red welled. The vampiric being in him snapped the iron barriers like they were made out of twigs.

“Not this dirty tactic again,” Zero sighed, resigned. He had been there before but this time, he involuntarily shuddered as Kaname’s fingers snaked through his hair, anchoring themselves behind his pierced ears tilting his head up. The pureblood could twist his head off his spine effortlessly if he wished so he lowered the sword, bringing the blade to point at Kaname’s sternum. There was sorrow in those magnificent garnet eyes. Zero closed his so he wouldn’t sink into them. 

He felt Kaname’s lips move against his ear, whispering apologies, assuring him that he would emerge victorious because of his strength and the pureblood vampire would be watching, for the battle against his old tormentor was his and solely his. It sounded like the pureblood _cared_.

“I have lied,” Kaname’s cool hands moulded his jaw, breath skimming his skin. “I had never done it for Yuuki,” he confessed, another lie- Zero remained unconvinced.

Nevertheless, he melted when their lips connected. His lips parted from sheer weakness as Kaname’s kiss began to burn. He felt all the steel in his spine go soft as he leaned in and kissed Kaname back. Oh, he hadn't meant to, but it felt so good- anticipating the rapture he would be further drowned in the moment the pure blood touches his tongue. It was unfair to Aidou, neglecting time for this debauchery. But he was greedy- he would atone for his selfishness later. 

Kaname broke out a full bodied tremble when he laved the cut he made with his tongue. The pureblood stifled a moan when he sank his fangs in the familiar part of the arched neck. 

Zero didn’t take much since the hoard of demons that came with the blood felt was too strong for him to handle. He saw nothing but roiling darkness and writhing bodies screaming- things that he never experienced when he took the Kaname’s blood in the past. 

Shackled- that was what he felt afterwards as he admired Kaname’s face. The skin glistened with a sheen he had never noticed before. There was nothing human about that being who held him so preciously in his arms. 

But the blood was glorious. 

Zero had lowered his sword hand the moment he got lost in his senses. Raising his left tentatively, he touched his fingers to the skin beneath Kaname’s smouldering garnet eyes. In turn, Kaname caught his hand, brought it to his lips and kissed his knuckles.

Why? he asked his question mutely. 

“I just want you,” Kaname told him gently, deceptively fond. Zero’s steel enforced heart translated it as, ‘ _I wanted to possess you’._ Tomohisa wanted him too and he suffered greatly. It seemed like Kaname understood his turmoil so he said, “Go now, we will have the conversation later. I will be close by and I promise not to interfere with your retribution unless it is absolutely necessary. Come back to me safely.”

“No promises.” said Zero. 

Kaname gave him a wry smile. He watched Kaname’s physical body disperse into those bat-like creatures, flapping their wings flying off into the tunnel, blending in with the darkness. 

Soundlessly, Zero headed towards the voices. Tomohisa didn’t bolt the door to the tunnel at all, leaving it open and yellow light spilled through the parted opening- as if he was expecting him. 

"Zero is dead- you stupidly sent those crazy Es and he got killed. I thought I'd told you that over and over again!" That shrill voice definitely belonged to Aidou.

"And I don't believe you." Tomohisa sneer was followed by the snapping sound of a whip lashing onto skin. “You’ve proven that you are no easy pickings when you obliterated the ex-humans I stationed in the tunnels alone- Zero will come.”

He assumed that Tomohisa had somehow managed to capture the blonde idiot and was in the process of killing off his boredom. By the sound of it, Aidou had screwed up big time. Zero recognized the scent of Aidou's blood immediately and to his horror, the faint traces of his too. Suddenly, he was afraid of Kuran's reaction. The pureblood was unpredictable. 

Taking a deep breath and braced himself. 

"I'm here Tomohisa." Zero's voice echoed off the walls. He stepped out of the tunnel and showed himself to his former master, his former tormentor, his eternal monster under his fictitious bed. 

The older silver haired hunter's hand stopped midair and the long braided leather bullwhip was snagged back. Aidou recognized his voice and those blue eyes widened in alarm. Tomohisa had the raggedly breathing blonde shackled solid against the wall. There were long bloodied cuts criss-crossing Aidou's abdomen, his torn clothes hanging off in strips, blood dripping onto the stone floor- he looked terrible. 

"Zero, you’re here! I knew the little twit was lying all along," Tomohisa's maniacal smile sent shivers down his spine.

"Where's the welcoming party? I thought you were setting this all up exclusively for me." Zero said dryly and scanned the nostalgic twenty by twenty feet underground chamber with mock interest. Nothing much had changed since the last time he had been there. A thin layer of sleet covered some of the surfaces and there were spots of wet muddy substances mixed with melting ice on the floor. Aidou had done pretty well eliminating the Es all by himself. _‘Too bad he had underestimated Tomohisa,_ thought Zero _._

Aidou remained silent. Zero suspected the blonde had caught the whiff of Kaname’s filthy blood because he was visibly fighting his traitorous nature. His blue eyes were slowly changing to red. Tomohisa must have taken his own reddish amethyst eyes as a sign of his own bloodlust- he was a Level-D after all.

"You're injured," Tomohisa had mistaken the dried Level-E blood on his garments as his. The snake would be so proud if he learnt that most of it was not.

"Let him go, Tomohisa. This is between you and me," Zero took a few steps forward.

"Step any closer and I'll liquefy his brain and make him bleed through his ears," warned the amber-eyed snake, snapping fingers like a good villain. The anti-vampire circle beneath Aidou’s feet glowed. 

Zero noticed a clamour of individuals behind a bluish barrier at the other end of the large chamber. He recognized Cross and Kaito immediately and to his surprise, he saw Yuuki. Kaito was trying to bring the barrier down while another two vampires stood watch- Kain and Souen. He was unsure whether to feel relieved or worried, Cross and Takamiya might be useful but he was sure Tomohisa would have rigged the entire floor with traps for vampires. 

"You need me to get out of here, Tomohisa. They would never let you pass through.” Zero made an offhand gesture towards Cross and company. 

Tomohisa grinned like a madman and childishly flipped a finger at Cross, he started laughing slowly. “What can they even do?!” he says gleefully, clapping his hands. “Besides, you know what waits for them in here. I made new nasty ones, my pet. I can’t wait to show them to you- let them come!” He seems way too excited. 

"Smile for me-" Tomohisa threw him off guard. He laughed again, evilly, maniacally. 

"What?"

"Smile Zero, and I'll let him go." Tomohisa's madness never ceased to faze him. The snake always had a sick obsession with getting a smile out of him. 

Instead, Zero gave him a crooked grin, "I'll put up a better offer, Tomohisa." 

"That's a nice one there but it does not count as a smile. What's your bargain?"

"Hand that thing you took from him back and I'll come with you," Zero gestured towards Aidou. “Let _Hanabusa_ go and I promise I will not disobey you again.”

Aidou protested, struggling in his bonds, telling him to run but Zero maintained a steady gaze at Tomohisa. The blonde had pulled the reckless stunt because of the stupid memory crystal so he might as well help him secure his objectives. He was being extra careful so that Kamame would not figure out about his and Aidou's little secret. The pure blooded demon was hovering in the tunnel; he could still smell his blood in the air- Zero could feel the demon’s barely restrained fury. 

Amber eyes gleaming in excitement, Tomohisa said, "I can't deny that I find the offer quite tempting. You’re usually harder to _persuade_. Why?"

"Isn't it obvious? I love him." Zero said it without even batting an eye.

Zero knew he had sounded convincing enough because immediately Aidou's eyes widened in mortification. Both he and Aidou could feel Kaname’s wrath spilling into the small confined space.

"You are not capable of such things as love, Zero- I've made sure of that."

Zero brought up his short sword, taking an attacking stance, challenging Tomohisa. "Oh, I have to thank you for nabbing us and throwing us in that freezer together, Tomohisa _-sensei_. I haven't realized up till recently. As funny as it may sound- it's true." Zero suppressed his urge to puke at his own words. He was determined to rattle Tomohisa as much as he could. “Draw your weapon, dear master.”

"You're lying..." Tomohisa's voice had taken a dangerous turn. “Love- _you_ love a vampire? Bullshit, I broke you, impossible!” The whip cracked against the mud-caked floor before Tomohisa transferred it into his left hand, drawing out a trench knife which was sheathed at his hip. Zero had forgotten that the snake was ambidextrous. 

The sound of the whip brought out a preconditioned shudder out of him. Zero fought it, “No, I’ve even _had_ him- you know what I mean. It was not so hard given your _lessons_ were really helpful.”

“Lies!” Tomohisa shouted as he launched himself at Zero, knife slashing as Zero parried. One of Tomohisa’s strokes slashed his sleeve open, nicking his upper left arm and drawing blood- the anti-vampire properties of Tomohisa’s blade preventing it from healing. 

Tomohisa distanced himself from Zero and lashed at him with the whip, aiming to disarm his sword. His old teacher managed to land one, tearing a gash across his shoulder. Zero ignored the blood oozing out of his lacerated skin, weaved around before he leaped high, his sword pointed in a downward stab but Tomohisa managed to evade. He had to keep Tomohisa close or he would face the devastating whip again. 

Zero was using his prenatural speed with his to push Tomohisa back with every slash of his short sword. His former teacher was indeed an exceptional fighter, being able to comfortably deflect his rapid attacks. In a split second, he saw an opening and delivered a kick to Tomohisa’s chin, knocking the hunter backwards. "I could show you what a delicious little morsel my Hanabusa is but doing _it_ in front of a crowd would be plain awkward.” Zero sprinkled the poison and grinned meaningfully at Tomohisa. “But I bet _you_ would enjoy the show.”

Blood dribbled from Tomohisa’s mouth, he spat it out. “You filthy little-" the hunter growled. 

"Am I? You made me into what I am, my dear _beloved_ master." Both Tomohisa and himself were controlling their breaths or else they would be heaving for air. Blood from the wounds of Tomohisa's attacks mixed with sweat soaked his clothing. 

“Yes, I did. You’re a masochistic, dirty little whore who begged and cried to be used,” Tomohisa sneered derisively. “However, you are ungrateful for forgetting your place. I even prepared you a little gift if you agree to come back to me nicely. Do you know that your belov-“

Tomohisa was cut short because black blur hurtled across the space. Zero almost yelled in anger because Kuran Kaname had interrupted his fight by choosing to come out of his hidey hole and attack. The dark haired pureblood vampire had caught Tomohisa by the neck and threw him against the erected barrier.

Tomohisa crumpled down like a broken stringed puppet and the memory crystal skittered across the room. The amber eyed snake stood no chance against the enraged pureblood vampire. Zero was positive the onlookers behind the barrier were as equally shocked as he was.

Zero moved towards Aidou and deactivated the anti-vampire circle. He caught Aidou just in time before the blond crashed down on the floor.

"You're foolish to think you could finish this alone," he chided Aidou in a low whisper.

"Get the crystal!" Aidou hissed while tugging on the front of his shirt.

From the corner of his eyes, he saw Kaname bend down and picked up the crystal sphere. The pureblood held it in the palm of his hand- Tomohisa bursted out laughing once more. The older hunter must have rigged the crystal with some sort of spell because the air in the space compressed as Kaname’s eyes turned completely blank. The sphere fell out of his hand. Zero could hear Yuuki's panicked scream from behind the barrier. She was banging her fists against the barrier but Cross had pulled her back.

"That thing had been rendered useless as soon as Takahashi died- that useless vampire! Luckily a little bird told me he sighted Kuran Kaname with you so I prepared him a little gift. Now I will complete your education, Zero- never rise against your master and expect you could get away with it," Tomohisa laughed hysterically and staggered up to his feet, staggered a few steps towards the impassive pureblood vampire but finally managed to steady himself. Yuuki's anguished screams grew even louder, begging Kaname to snap out of it.

"You're playing dirty, Tomohisa," Zero accused as he hoisted the weakened Aidou up by the waist. The Level-B had overexerted himself in using his powers to fight against the Es and could barely stand.

"There’s no shame to it- I call it a well planned strategy with solid contingency plans. _You_ brought him to me, Zero. I'm grateful, so I might as well test my new plaything on you!" Tomohisa bellowed and broke into another volley of laughter.

"Leave me, Zero. This can't be good." Aidou rasped hoarsely. The blood from the cut and welt covered midsection was soaking into his garments.

He did as he was told and Aidou sagged back onto the floor, holding his upper body up with his shaking arms. Zero watched Kaname pick up the discarded bullwhip off the floor and disappeared like a giant black blur. He was going to engage with Kuran Kaname, the pureblood vampire lord in a hand-to-hand fight. He will not be surprised if he would meet his end right there and then. However, no matter how futile, he will put up a fight.

Sure enough, Kaname appeared beside him those garnet eyes blank and lifeless as he swiped at him over and over again using that startling speed of his. It was a gamble to go up against Kaname’s agility and strength. Zero stepped forward with his left foot, rotated his left hand counter clockwise and circled his right hand under his left, locking Kaname’s hands together. Then he swiftly pulled Kaname’s arms down to the right. He closed his left fist and smashed it against the perfect face as hard as he could. The momentum caused the pureblood vampire to fall backwards so he used the opportunity to drive his right fist into the unguarded solar plexus. 

The hit was not enough to incapacitate Kaname but bought him some time to make a sprint towards Tomohisa. However, his neck was snagged back by the bullwhip and he was pulled back crashing down onto the floor. Zero managed to unwind the braided leather off his raw bloodied neck, rolled up onto his knees and tugged on the long whip as hard as he could. The pureblood vampire staggered a few steps forward and before he could fully regain his balance, Zero extended his right leg, swiped it and hooked the back of Kaname’s left heel. It worked because Kaname crashed head first onto the floor.

Again, he searched for Tomohisa and found the vile silver haired hunter being kicked down onto the floor by Aidou. The blond moved to straddle and choked Tomohisa with his left hand while gripping the top of the hunter's head with his right hand. He was doing something to Tomohisa because those amber orbs were stricken with panic and he had resorted to calling Kaname back towards him.

Zero saw Kaname spring up and moved swiftly towards Aidou, talons extended. He was not really thinking when he sprinted towards Aidou and he was definitely not thinking straight when he placed himself in between Kaname and the blonde. Yuuki's horrified scream was not loud enough to muffle the sound of his bones crunching as Kaname’s sharp talons pierced through his left side- breaking his ribs, puncturing his lungs and stopping there.

Aidou had managed to belatedly stop Tomohisa and life crept back into Kuran's blank eyes.

Blood poured from both the wound and his mouth. Zero watched those magnificent garnet eyes widened in horror. Aidou was screaming for Kaname to withdraw the talons out of his body, cradling his head while begging him to stay awake. Zero heard a loud boom in the distance. Hurried pairs of feet were running towards him. He heard Yuuki's voice again.

Zero couldn’t even scream when Kaname finally pulled out his hand out of his chest cavity in a sickening sluice. The immense amount of pain he was experiencing increased exponentially when Kaito put pressure on his wound. The blood he was losing eventually numbed his senses and ironically, his thoughts drifted back to the night Ichiru had surrendered his life to him. He remembered the horrendously fatal wound his beloved brother had sustained on his left side- inflicted by Kuran Rido. Now, Zero knew the kind of agony that his twin had felt then. Only this time, it was Kuran Kaname that had delivered the final blow. 

His vision was tunnelling. 

More blood poured out of his mouth as he struggled to suck air into his collapsing lungs.

All he could see was Aidou’s blue anguished eyes. 

_Stop crying, Hanabusa_. 

He felt something being pushed against his mouth, he tasted Aidou’s blood but he couldn’t bring himself to swallow- he choked. 

He remembered the last thing Kaname said to him, _‘Come back to me safely.’_

_‘No promises.’_ he had replied back then. 

Perhaps the Kiryuus were meant to perish in the hands of the Kurans after all.

He remembered Ichiru's last smile right before Aidou's tear filled blue eyes were replaced by a pair of garnets.

He could not muster his strength to hate those eyes like he used to.

Because in the end, it was not so painful anymore.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> April 16th, 2020
> 
> Do you want to kill me for the ending?  
> Hold your pitchforks.  
> Wait for the epilogue (＞人＜;)
> 
> Really... what do you think?  
> There must be a lot of mistakes. Where o where had my Beta gone. I'm really worried- not kidding.
> 
> I took longer than usual because of the fight scenes. Had nobody to test them out with this time around. The sparring partner is in another state atm. Both of us are stuck! I will get arrested if I try to cross borders during this period. Go away you cursed virus! 
> 
> Nuff ranting.  
> Write me something in the comments if you want me to work my butt harder. I’m about to die from solidarity. Boredom kills. Lol. Not.
> 
> I’m going to post the epilogue and then work on the sequel to this. I will be editing that story too since I changes a lot of things in this one. Should I write lemons? I’m all grown up now. Fu,fu,fu..
> 
> Thank you for reading.


	18. The Epilogue

"Good. You're awake,"

Aidou wanted to brush back the soft silvery bangs away from Zero's forehead but since he did not have a death wish, he abstained from doing so. The vampire hunter was stirring up from his deep slumber.

"Fuck," Zero croaked, scrunching his forehead in pain.

"Golly, you've been lying down stupid like the dead and the first thing that came out of your mouth is the 'F' word?" Aidou could not suppress his chuckle.

"What 'F' word? I said fuck," Zero groaned and brought up his right hand over his still closed eyes, shielding them from the pendaflour light. "I'm not dead?"

"No, and I missed your temper too by the way."

"Tch... Yeah, whatever," Zero scoffed.

Aidou watched Zero blink his amethyst eyes open. He marveled at how those clear orbs could look so beautiful despite all the hatred and suffering that lurked within the hunter's battered soul. Zero scanned the room warily; his ever cautious hunter instincts were gradually kicking in.

"You're at my house," Aidou gulped and waited for Zero's reaction.

"What?" Zero's alarm was not unexpected. He struggled to sit up on the bed and immediately let out a hiss. The bandaged wound on his left side had not healed properly. Nevertheless, the stubborn silver haired ex-human lifted the covers and swung both of his legs out to the other side of the bed to make his escape.

"Oh, no you don't!" Aidou got up, shot his hand across the single bed and pulled Zero back on it by the scruff of his white cotton pajamas. Zero was sent sprawling back onto the mattress with a painful grunt.

"Oh yes I will. Are you kidnapping me now, princess?"

It had not been easy to convince the hunters at the Association, especially Yagari Touga to leave Zero under his care. The hunters had limited resources when it came to treating an injured vampire and using that fact, Aidou had managed to persuade Cross Kaien. Kuran Yuuki was relieved by the decision but Aidou could not say the same for Kuran Kaname. Although Kaname had said nothing, Aidou could feel Kaname's apprehension.

Zero had been unconscious for five days. 

"Do you think I'd simply let you go after you said that you love me?" Aidou utilized all of his charms and tried to sound convincing enough to trick the enraged vampire hunter. It worked because Zero had stopped struggling. Zero's glare was replaced by panicked disbelief while his cheeks flamed red. Aidou could not help but flash one of his trademark smiles.

"That was a lie." Zero's blush had crept up all the way to the tips of his ears.

'Too cute.'Aidou decided to tease Zero,"I don't believe you. You called me princess, you said you love me in front of everyone and you saved me. So there, you love me." Aidou faked a playful pout.

"Gaahhh. Stop acting like a dim-witted girl and snap out of it before I have to kill you!"

'Okay, not so cute anymore.’

Aidou smiled cheekily and ruffled the top of Zero's head. Much to his surprise Zero accepted his touch without complaint. "Fine... Now can we talk?"

Zero did not hide his relief and exhaled raggedly, "Like I have any other choice. All right, shoot."

"First of all, let me tell you that I brought you here because they are still ironing out this mess. I figured that you'd be safer with me," Aidou emphasized that particular word. They meant Kuran Kaname, his family and the hunters.

"Tch, safe? Safe with you? And I'm getting out of here right after this conversation." Zero's sarcasm was back.

Zero had moved to sit on the edge of the bed to face Aidou. The hunter's face was partially hidden beneath his longish locks of silver hair but Aidou could not help but notice the gauntness of those pale cheeks. Zero had lost a lot of blood and all he doubted that the artificial blood solution the physician had been giving him during his state of unconsciousness was sufficient to curb the ex-human's thirst for long.

"Takamiya is right outside that door with Akatsuki," Aidou told him.

Zero ran his fingers through his messy silver hair and huffed indignantly, "Should I feel relieved? Forget it. I'm still getting out of here. Now talk so I can get this over with."

"You ungrateful, stubborn, impudent..." Aidou tried to sound angry but he ended up chuckling instead.

"Don't waste time, princess. What do you want from me?" Zero huffed rudely at the blond.

Aidou rolled his eyes and disdain etched his striking face. "I would like to request for your oath of nondisclosure for the things that we have learned from one another during that incident."

Something sparked behind Zero's eyes. Aidou shifted in his high backed chair as Zero openly studied him. Zero spoke, "You can be rest assured that your secret has no significant value to me but I can't say the same about you. I simply don't trust you,"

Startlingly, Zero's cold words had managed to hurt him. It sliced through his heart like a piece of jagged glass. Aidou bowed his head and summoned his will to face Zero once more but Zero had opened his mouth before Aidou could.

"My words are affecting you," Zero stated. It was not even a question.

Aidou made up his mind and confronted those piercing amethyst again, "They are. It's the damned blood exchange- our bond."

Zero stared blankly at him for a few seconds before breaking into the most enthralling smile that Aidou has ever witnessed from the walking, talking, and bad tempered cold chunk of marble. He felt his cheeks smother in pink watching that smile morph into something even stranger. Laughter had come out of that tattooed throat. ‘Kiryuu Zero had finally lost his marbles.'

As he waited for Zero to regain his senses, Aidou started to catalogue Zero physical traits, that exotic shade of silver, his odd amethyst coloured eyes, the piercings on his ears and that ugly black tattoo on the left side of his neck. Instantly he recalled his last encounter with his lord, Kuran Kaname.

It was right after Aidou had brought Zero back to his home. The vampire hunter had been treated for his injuries, mainly for the wound he had sustained on his left side. Aidou had managed to stop Tomohisa just in the nick of time. Zero would have turned to dust if Kaname had punctured the heart. Seiren had appeared and instructed Aidou to follow her. Aidou had left Zero under Kain's watch and went away with Seiren.

She had brought him to one of her family homes. Aidou had never been there and he was surprised to find Kaname waiting for them in the small Japanese rock garden.

-Flashback-

"Kaname-sama," Aidou bowed at the pureblood.

Kaname did not acknowledge Aidou's presence; he was standing by a bed of hydrangeas grown under a clump of rustling bamboo. Aidou held his breath when Kaname bent forward to pick one of the tiny flowers growing in one of the purplish clusters and straightened up. He beckoned for Aidou to approach.

"Hydrangeas are rare in this season," Kaname startled him. Aidou was bracing himself for a stern lecture or even a physical punishment. Not a comment on flowers. Kaname ignored Aidou's bewilderment and continued, "They intrigue me, Hanabusa- having an inflorescence with the form but not necessarily the structure of a panicle. They change colors according to the soil alkalinity, sometimes smoked as an intoxicant, despite the danger of illness or even death due to the cyanide," Kaname motioned for Aidou to raise his palm and deposited the flower with light purple petals into it. "Do you know of the hidden virtue of hydrangeas, Aidou Hanabusa?"

Kaname's sudden display of interest in botany bothered him. 'Why plants of all things?' he wondered. Aidou gulped nervously and answered, "No, I do not, Kaname-sama."

Kaname smiled, "A hydrangea has two, very different, sides. It can be a gift to express a thank you for understanding, for devotion- it can also signify frigidity and heartlessness."

Aidou immediately remembered Zero and paled. Kaname would not use something as a metaphor unless it bore a significant meaning, his uncharacteristic display of concern towards Zero back at the bunker confirmed something that Aidou had been dreading all this while- that Kuran Kaname did have something towards Kiryuu Zero- and his decision to look after Zero had irked his pure blooded lord.

Aidou closed his fist, accidentally crushing the fragile flower in his panic and dropped to his knees, "I beg for your forgiveness, Kuran-sama. I... "

"I would like to think of you as this bamboo." Kaname pointed at a long bamboo. He was using a plant as a figure of speech again. Aidou was convinced that he was in deep trouble. Kaname's odd behavior scared him.

"You're loyal, steadfast, nurtured to serve us unquestioningly; the purest of our race- strong, flexible but unbreakable like a trustworthy Shinai. You have proven your worth to me by far," Kaname was staring at the clump of bamboo now. "However, even the sturdiest can be swayed and bent especially in the wind, especially if the wind is swirling like a coiling dragon in a thunderous storm. Who could resist a great tempest?"

"Kaname-sama, I..." Aidou was at a loss for words. Kaname gestured for him to stand, face unreadable. Aidou did, then he followed Kaname into the house. It was built like one of those old houses in ancient China. Enclosed courtyards were formed from the intersections of closely spaced buildings and offered small opening to the sky through the roof space from the floor up. Large trimmed logs were used as load-bearing columns and lateral beams for framing the buildings and supporting the roofs. Aidou followed Kaname silently along the corridors knowing that Seiren was somewhere close, observing their every movement in her vigilant silence.

Moments later, he found himself standing in front of a locked wooden door. Kaname had led him into an underground basement. The air was damp and musty. "Do you know what lies behind this door Hanabusa?" he asked.

Aidou shook his head. Suddenly, he was fearful of the dark-haired pureblood.

"I chose you, Hanabusa. For what lies behind this door is something for which I require a great degree of sacrifice and loyalty. Can I trust you with it?" Kaname turned the knob and waited for Aidou's answer.

"I would give everything in my power to serve you, Kaname-sama." Aidou did not like it at all but his loyalty to Kaname outweighed it all.

The door swung open and Aidou could not believe his eyes. There in the dark, 5ft by 7ft room stood a silver-haired vampire he thought he knew too well. His hands were shackled, attached to a long chain trailing on the concrete floor. The other end was connected to a rusty eyelet embedded in the brick wall. Aidou stared at the gaunt face down to the grey, plain scrub-like clothes the Level-D vampire wore. His logic deduced that the vampire standing before him in the dank, unlighted space was Zero but he did not 'feel' like Zero at all. Besides, he had left Zero back at the mansion so there was no way the unconscious vampire hunter could materialize in there. "Zero?" Aidou was doubtful but he wanted an affirmation.

"Wrong twin," the doppelganger broke into a crooked smile, enjoying his disgraceful reaction. Aidou felt his insides churn. Kaname was standing in silence outside the threshold of the door, studying the situation. Aidou was sure of it, the Level-D standing by the white covered bed was definitely not Zero. 'But he looks exactly like Zero. Unless…' thought Aidou.

"Kiryuu Ichiru?" Aidou looked intently at the black tattoo, the silver earrings, the messy silver mop of hair- all too similar; he remembered Tomohisa. Aidou suspected there must be more to the picture.

"You and Seiren will be responsible to see that his existence is kept secret. You may do anything that you see fit to ensure that he stays put," Kaname had indirectly confirmed Aidou's dread that the vampire was Ichiru.

"I won't impose for long though. The insanity will eat me up unless I take back whatever I have given to Zero, you fools! I'm incomplete!" Ichiru laughed bitterly.

"Aidou will see to that little problem of yours," Kaname shifted his gaze towards Aidou and immediately, Aidou understood- he had Zero's blood in him and Kaname knew. He would have to give it to Ichiru. Aidou realized that he was being punished by his lord.

-End of Flashback-

"What did you do to Tomohisa?" Zero brought Aidou back to the present.

"I gave him a life worse than death." Aidou could not help but smile cynically. 'And do you know that Ichiru is alive?' he wanted to tell Zero but his loyalty to Kaname held him back.

"I don't need riddles," Zero rolled his eyes.

"You're hopeless, you know that?" Aidou punched Zero's thigh, making Zero glare at him dangerously. Surprisingly, Aidou did not feel threatened at all. His attachment to Zero puzzled him. Aidou was sure Zero felt the same because those amethyst eyes had warmed up for a second before they took on to glaring.

"Straight answers," Zero warned.

"I planted your horrendous memories inside his head. He's at the Association now, waiting for a trial but the last time Takamiya checked, he was still not lucid. You can read the report; Takamiya has it," Aidou explained.

"A life worse than death?" Zero sneered. Aidou narrowed his eyes, waiting for some scathing remark to escape from those insolent lips. "I'm not going to thank you, princess."

"Why am I not surprised?" Aidou mumbled and braced his palms on the sides of the chair, hoisting himself up to get away from Zero but Zero grabbed his shoulders and held him still.

"What are we?" Zero's face was blank, open and unreadable. The question shocked Aidou and he blushed. However, Aidou understood Zero's meaning. They had accidentally formed a bond and it was throwing them off balance. They would need to reset the boundaries and never overstep them again. "Straight answers," Zero stated his warning again.

"Promise you won't kill me?" Aidou gulped and licked his lips nervously. Zero said nothing but nodded his head reluctantly. "You will stay still and listen and won't utter a single death threat?" Aidou asked again. Zero rolled his eyes and Aidou took it as an affirmative.

Zero was still holding him by his shoulders when Aidou swooped in and meshed their lips together. He could tell that he had caught Zero by surprise because Zero inhaled too sharply and then tried to push him away. He could feel Zero's eyelashes brushing against his cheek when he snaked his hands into the hair at the back of Zero's head and fisted those silver locks roughly. Then Aidou used his body weight to push Zero back onto the bed.

Zero landed with a painful grunt. He couldn't release Aidou's shoulders without failing to keep the blonde from crushing his weight on him so Aidou seized the opportunity to part Zero's lips with his mouth, running his tongue against Zero's firmly clamped teeth. Aidou found Zero's sharp canine tooth and he deliberately grazed his own tongue against it. Blood would do the trick and Aidou would cast his morals aside as long as he got what he wanted. It didn't matter if he cheated. The connection was there; all he wanted to do was get Zero to taste him, to admit him and to accept him.

It worked because Zero reeled as soon as the crimson droplets escaped between his teeth. Blood was his weakness and Aidou triumphed over the fact that he could make Zero lose his control. Aidou smiled against Zero's lips as he felt the vampire hunter kiss him back with equal ferocity, nip his lower lip and suck. He shuddered when Zero splayed one of his palms flat against his rapidly beating chest, feeling for his heartbeat. However, Zero froze a few seconds later and broke the kiss.

"Just let go Zero, just this once," Aidou said while staring into Zero's red stained eyes. He could feel Akatsuki's agitation emanating from behind the door but he chose to ignore it. 'This is my moment,'Aidou thought as he rolled to the side and changed their position so that Zero could hover over him on all fours on the bed. He did not care about the potential danger anymore; he would have the alluring silver-haired vampire hunter all to himself. It was like tasting a forbidden fruit and he was sure that Zero felt the same. 'Taboo', 'forbidden', 'wrong', 'not allowed'- he cast them all aside. 'O ruthless, perilous, imperious hate, you cannot thwart the promptings of my soul,' he remembered the line from a poem he had read a long time ago.

"Why are you doing this?" Zero's voice was soft, concerned.

"Following my instincts," Aidou smiled when Zero cocked his head to one side in puzzlement. "You should listen to yours too," he added and pulled Zero's head towards his pulsing neck. Zero's warmth, the soft caress of breath against his skin and the earthy, musky scent clouded his judgment.

Aidou could not read the wistful look that Zero had on his face. It was as if he was trying to commit every detail into his memory and Aidou saw something that resembled a smile ghost on the vampire hunter's lips before Zero spoke to him. "I hate you."

Aidou could not hold back his delighted whimper when Zero ran his hands over every inch of his exposed flesh, his face down to the column of his neck. Then Zero followed those trails with his mouth and tongue, those steady hands moved to pop the top buttons of Aidou's dress shirt and pushed it off the left shoulder. Aidou shuddered at the way Zero's tongue flicked at his neck as he nuzzled him, close enough that he could smell the scent of that glorious silver mane. He could feel Zero's hungry eyes tracing the lines of his clavicle up to his pulsing jugular as he waited for the anticipated rapture. It finally came; Zero licked the skin carefully as if he was afraid that Aidou would break, making Aidou growl impatiently. It was all forgotten as soon as Zero sank his fangs and lapped at the welling blood. The vampire hunter was weak, almost desperate for nourishment but he was holding his thirst back. Aidou did not care, he only wanted pleasure and Zero was giving him just that.

Aidou's bliss ended abruptly because Zero only took a little, nursing the wound close. Aidou was about to protest but Zero silenced him with another kiss, only this time it was surprisingly tender and Aidou could taste his own blood on the invading tongue, brushing against his gums, teasing his palette and dancing with his own tongue. Everything about Zero appeared to be surreal because here he was, Aidou Hanabusa, a Level-B aristocrat, frolicking with Kiryuu Zero, an enemy, possibly one of the most ruthless hunters in the making like they were actually lovers.

"There's an end to everything, senpai," Zero spoke to him, hoisting him up by the shoulders so he could sit up on the bed at Zero's side. Aidou studied Zero openly, wishing that he could simply pluck the details out of Zero's head. He could try but Aidou did not have a death wish so he decided to let Zero speak his mind.

"Are you trying to break up with me?" Aidou faked a pout again and earned an annoyed swat to the back of his head. Aidou hissed and glared at Zero.

"None of this will ever happen again," Zero was serious, he narrowed his eyes and stared back at Aidou.

"Is it because of Kaname-sama?"

He knew. 

"Is that what you were hoping, senpai? No! This has to stop because it's plain creepy, weird, bizarre and tad wrong." Zero slammed his fist on the mattress.

"So what are we, Zero? Back to being enemies?"

"Of course," the hunter affirmed.

"That is not possible. Not with this stupid bond thing between us."

"I don't understand a thing about this fucking bond. I don't have to ask you to marry me or something like that right?"

Zero had sounded so innocent that Aidou could not help but to burst out laughing. Zero swatted his head again and Aidou rubbed the spot in mock protest. "Unless the bond is formed between two beings that harbour mutual feelings for one another, there's nothing much to worry about," he explained to Zero.

Zero exhaled in undisguised relief but he asked again, "I can assure you that had never even occurred to me. Harbouring feelings? Tch…Then why are we acting the way we are right now? Given the normal circumstances, I would have slaughtered you. This, these feelings... they're damn confusing."

Aidou took a few seconds to contemplate and he remembered the events of the last 48 hours, Kuran Kaname and his sworn secrecy to keep the knowledge of Ichiru's existence from the world, especially Zero. "Let's blame it on vampire hormones, shall we?"

"So, are we back to being enemies?"

"Frenemies." Aidou grabbed Zero's right hand, planted a sloppy, wet kiss and finished off his cheeky antics with a crazed cackle. He wished he had a camera because Zero's mortified face was simply priceless.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> April 16th, 2020
> 
> All done~   
> Took me twelve days to get this all done. Pretty nuts, I think. I’m not too worried about the number of hits. My bestie said I’m stupid for not spacing the chapters because the story wouldn’t catch many hits. Really gal? I’m doing this because I want to. 
> 
> YOU are reading this, right? There, that’s enough for me. I bow to you for finishing this smut-less fic. Who’d be crazy enough to bone in the middle of being chased by vampires and a pedo? 
> 
> So, what do you think?
> 
> Up for the sequel, the continuation? Wanna know how Kaname gets Zero? Better head to the next story, luv.. “The Black Iris” is also an old story. There are 7 chapters of it ready that needs editing because I changed so much in this story.  
> It will be KaZe and there will be lemons in there. Yaoi. BxB... there wasn’t before but now...  
> I’ve grown up...! 
> 
> How much lemons should I put in there tho...?  
> (о´∀`о)
> 
> Thank you for reading.


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